The answer is capitalism, I know.
But it wasn’t always like this. Why the hell are they allowed to absolutely monopolize all shows and venues? How are there not laws on this?
Is stopping going to any shows the only way to fix this? If so, that wont happen. People are gonna go see their favorite bands (and ticketmonster knows it)
I wish this one was as easy as getting rid of all my streaming services - but they really fucked us over for live shows.
Ticketmaster is a perfect example of how much politicians are full of shit, all of them.
You know those Congressional Dog & Pony Shows, where they drag out the CEOs of some industry, holler at them all day, and then go back to their office and do absolutely nothing about what they just hollered about?
They did that with Ticketmaster in 1994, again in 2009, and again in 2023. Every 15 years or so, they get outraged in public, and do nothing. I’m sure it has nothing to do with Ticketmaster making enormous campaign contributions to everyone in office.
just like TAX return filing systems, h&r block and INTUIT are pratically a duopoly.
This is what happens when the shareholders screw the working class https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-g1u0ascpLY
Perfect.
I really hate how much of a deal they make out of congressional hearings like it isn’t the lamest form of PR where nothing happens.
If it was a serious issue they cared about, senators wouldn’t be walking in for their 15 minute turn and then just immediately leave after they’re done reading off of their script.
They never show a wide shot because the chamber is empty.
Hot seat my ass, I wouldn’t be surprised if it came built in with a back massager to compensate whoever has to sit for several hours for the whole show.
Nothing will meaningfully improve until the rich fear for their lives
yikes. you can chill mate.
This perspective is what a reasonable person arrives to after learning why things have not meaningfully improved in their lifetime.
uh, hard disagree with the “reasonable”. the small echo chamber isn’t the whole world.
I’m talking about observable reality…
If a reasonable person figures out that no peaceful avenue for change has been left, they will accept that we have to do something else.
It has nothing to do with Lemmy
echo chambers exist outside the internet
Nothing will meaningfully improve, until the rich fear for their lives!
ok. you go that way, ill go home!
Greet your boss in the shoe inlay factory for me.
oh no i dont work, im on social assistance.
Educate yourself about how we managed to get your ass on social assistance first. Hint: it was very peacefully, extremely peacefully, and also read about sarcasm
actually it was peacefully here in my country because we don’t have 2nd amendment rights
My condolances then.
oh none needed, im glad i dont work anymore
Nope, they’re spot on.
A LOT of people need to feel unsafe leaving their homes.
jesus, this is sad to see. hope you get help mate.
You’re part of the problem.
Only one thing ever stopped Nazis.
good thing they arent in power anymore
yeah they are lol do you live under a rock? the world is ran by pedophiles and racists
didn’t know my prime minister is a pedo or racist.
Oh okay, you’re playing the clueless MAGA game. Cute. My four year old does something similar now and then, but more convincingly.
Thanks for reminding me that we have to deal with you people up here too.
I’m not MAGA lol
How does that boot taste down there?
down where? i live on the surface of the earth, not sure if you mean theres a city underground or somthing. also i don’t like to taste boots, too earthy, more of a food person.
There are currently lawsuits against them, but it takes time. This is from NC Attorney General Jeff Jackson’s newsletter earlier this year:
"The People vs. Ticketmaster/Live Nation
I’m forcing myself to only pick one case to go into detail about - but it’s a great one.
Let’s say you want to make a bunch of money by supplying live entertainment, primarily the music industry.
Well, the three big pieces in that business are:
The venue
The right to promote the event
The right to sell the tickets
Now imagine you control each of those. You own venues, and you promote the events, and you sell the tickets.
Congratulations - you’re a monopoly.
You’ve achieved vertical integration within your business, which means the sum of those parts has unlocked the ability to gouge customers with the confidence that they won’t be able to find a competitor to offer them a better deal. And using your monopoly to further entrench your power to charge customers higher prices is against the law.
This is exactly what I, along with a bipartisan group of AGs, allege that Ticketmaster/Live Nation has done.
They’ve turned concert ticket fees into something fans call the “Ticketmaster Tax.” These are the “convenience fees,” “processing fees,” and “handling fees” that add up quickly, inflating ticket prices by huge margins.
Why can they get away with it? Because they’ve locked venues into exclusive contracts, squeezing out any chance of competition.
But it gets worse. If venues try to resist and explore other options, Live Nation retaliates by threatening to strip venues of popular acts. The internal emails from Live Nation executives detailed in our lawsuit are explicit and awful.
Which means, if you’re an independent venue that doesn’t use Ticketmaster, good luck booking artists. Ticketmaster controls ticket sales and Live Nation controls promotion, so artists who are promoted by Live Nation typically won’t be allowed to perform at venues that refuse to use Ticketmaster for ticketing.
This is textbook unlawful monopoly behavior. Consumers are paying higher prices and artists and venues are suffering from reduced competition and income.
The good news is that Live Nation just tried - but failed - to get our lawsuit dismissed. That’s a big step toward accountability, including our ultimate request that Live Nation be required to divest Ticketmaster, which it acquired in 2011 and which became the linchpin for much of their monopolistic behavior."
oh wow what a well written excerpt.
He is the most levelheaded, respectful, and transparent politician I’ve ever seen. I’ve been following him for years because he will explain what he’s working on in a way that doesn’t insult your intelligence nor play into the drama of politics. During his time in the US House of Representatives, his newsletters would sometimes explain the theatrics of government shutdowns and orchestrated outrage from other members. Even then, he didn’t name anyone specifically or sling mud. I’ve encouraged people from all kinds of political perspectives to follow his newsletters. He’s a great example of how a representative should be, and I genuinely believe that’s just part of his personal ethos.
Unregulated capitalism. Specifically, unenforced monopoly laws, which the U.S. has been terrible at.
That is true, capitalism deserves its share of the blame but this ain’t it. Capitalism isn’t even done properly in this regard - tyranny is what this is, and for a capitalist society they sure are doing a terrible job at capitalism.
I don’t see how tyranny is to blame. The problem is that Ticket Master has been allowed to create a monopoly on ticket sales and is selling to retailers even though it itself is a retailer, which is an anti-consumer practice. A tyrannical government isn’t the problem here; it’s simply a company getting away with shit current laws clearly forbid. Hence, capitalistic actions being unrestrained by effective, government-enforced laws. That’s capitalism allowed to run rampant, which is a very common problem in American society. The problem isn’t capitalism per se, but capitalism unrestrained by existing laws that are designed to keep it in check.
They are extremely litigious. I work in software security and they are notorious for basically having an ocean of lawyers.
they sound like 3 insulin companies that had a stranglehold on the types of insulin for type 1 diabetics. they were aggressively pursuing any attempt to make thier own version until recently, they backed off.
Republicans
Ticketmonster has just always been outrageous. I was a teenager in the 80s and it was ridiculous back then too. The prices were lower but the percentages were just as ridiculous, I think. For example, my first concert was Men At Work in 1983. The tickets were $12.50 but my final price at Ticketmonster, which used to be a physical business inside Sears, was over $16, which is around a 30% markup!!
Was my dream to catch Rush on this tour. 1000 cad per ticket. I can go to a European metal festival for the same price and see 120 bands.
Blame the artists too. Neil young capped tickets this year’s tour at 120 with no ability to resell.
Blame the artists too
This. They’re the ones that set ticket prices, and they get the majority of the revenue from ticket sales. Ticketmaster/LN has even said themselves that they don’t make most of their money on tickets, the artists do, but they want to take the blame away from the artist to keep making sales.
Not that Ticketmaster isn’t an issue. Vendor lock-in especially for independently owned venues has been a problem for a long time.
I can answer that…for money.
Lack or regulation in their industry. Regulation, while it can be burdensome in some cases, prevents bullshit like this from existing. Republicans want less regulation so businesses are allowed to generally be as horrible as they want and have pushed everything towards less regulation and more monopolistic control, knowing that while some people will boycott individually, mass boycott is unlikely without a massively bad immediate fuck up (target just did this). Boil the masses slowly and they won’t notice in time to do anything about it. Kinda like US politics over the last few decades leading to the fuckery we endure now even outside of shit businesses.
Deregulation and regulatory capture
Because people keep paying them.
Right here.
Talk is cheap. And people are stupid.
Stop going to events with Ticketmaster.
Why is <fill in company> so shitty? Why is <fill in bank> so shitty? Why is <fill in politician> so shitty? Because we fucking suck balls at any type of informed decision-making and it’s fucking snowballed to this current shit show.
Because politicians stopped working for us since a long time ago
🎶 The answer is always capitalism 🎵
