Live Nation Answers The Federal Investigation Into Ticket Pricing and Practices with Support of a “Fair Ticketing Act”


(PRNewsfoto/Live Nation Entertainment)

 

Live Nation /Ticketmaster have come under fire in recent years for what many concertgoers and bands decry as price fixing and artificially inflating ticket pricing, and scalping/reselling. The brand has been under investigation by the US Government after a major public outrage by fans after ticket fiascos such as Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, and recently Blink-182. Live Nation has been the past recipient of ire from metalheads after proof of collusion with bands to create a resale market with major bands, such as Metallica, causing a major embarrassment for the band. In their rebuttal to the case being made against them (one of which is that they hold an unfair monopoly on the entire concert industry) they claim they are not unfair and entrants into the field for ticket sales have caused them to defend their brand. Check out Live Nation’s response to the investigation below. Continue reading


Metallica Called Out For Their Past Dealings with Ticketmaster on “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver”


John Oliver’s program Last Week Tonight With John Oliver took on Ticketmaster/Live Nation on the show this week, calling out corrupt practices, shady fees, price gouging and the creation and manipulation of the secondary market for tickets. In addition to resellers such as Stubhub and Seatgeek and others, Olvier pointed out the common practice where bands do not release swaths of tickets to each to the public, but hold them back to charge huge sums as resale tickets that were never publicly available in the first place. Among the artists called out: Justin Bieber, Mariah Carey and Metallica. Famously Metallica was outed after their original “S&M2” at the Chase Center in 2019 sold out in minutes as scalpers bought most of the tickets, with resales in the $1000s. Many top bands like Metallica have their own operative that works with Ticketmaster/Live Nation to choose the best seats at every show, so they can in effect “scalp their own tickets.” In fairness to Metallica, they did put on a second show geared toward fanclub and sales to real fans, as opposed to scalpers and bots. Ghost Cult covered that story extensively, which you can read here and even the US Congress reviewed the scandal. Continue reading


Ghost Cult’s Top 10 Stories of 2020


Here are the top stories on www.GhostCultMag.com in 2020:

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Live Nation CEO Predicts a Return of Concerts and Festivals “At Scale” in 2021


Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino has been bullish on concerts and festivals returning in 2021 and now we have further evidence that he is convinced of this idea. According to a published report by Kerrang (via IQ Mag) Rapino spoke on an Investors call on November 5th in which he said expects concerts to return “at scale” next year, depending on the region.He further shared that the promoters were working on a “roadmap to get back to live safely”, with current “progress on testing technology treatments and vaccines” looking encouraging. Though Michael admitted the “exact timeline of this return will vary by region, and so we continue to focus on remaining flexible”, he added that Live Nation “expect shows at scale next summer”.

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Holes Revealed in Ticketmaster’s Relief Plan Casts Doubt on Refunds


Ghost Cult has been following the story of Ticketmaster and Live Nation and their initial reluctance to refund tickets of shows and music festivals. According to Digital Music News live events initially scheduled to take place on or after August 1st wouldn’t be part of the Ticketmaster Ticket Relief Plan. Ticketmaster owner Live Nation intends to reevaluate the coronavirus crisis, as well as the sentiment and plans of event organizers, before deciding whether to issue refunds for post-July events that have been put on ice. However, Ticketmaster has introduced a few new stipulations to its Ticket Relief Plan, and posted the fine print on a recently launched microsite.

Ticket Refund

First, if an artist (or an event organizer) is rescheduling a concert, but has yet to officially select a new date, ticketholders will be temporarily unable to receive refunds. “If you have tickets to a show that is postponed, you will have to wait until the rescheduled date is announced to select your refund option,” the Ticket Relief Plan website reads.

Significantly, when an organizer or artist has postponed an event for 60 days without selecting a new date, ticketholders will automatically become eligible to receive refunds. Then, ticketholders have just 30 days to ask for refunds after their respective events’ rescheduled dates have officially been announced, according to Ticketmaster’s terms.

Additionally, the Ticket Relief Plan is less than clear in terms of the refund status of events that were postponed and rescheduled well before April 1st. Those postponements are already older than 30 days. The Ticket Relief Plan states: “Tickets will automatically be valid for the new date, unless you opt for a refund within 30 days of the new show date being announced.” Until Ticketmaster issues more guidance, it’s unclear what will come of tickets to events that were rescheduled or postponed more than 30 days back.

Ticketmaster ticketholders will automatically receive refunds for functions that are canceled outright; some artists have made a point of canceling their shows so that fans can more easily get their money back.

Finally, those who’ve bought tickets to (rescheduled) shows at Ticketmaster venues will have the chance to secure vouchers for 150 percent of the initial purchase price; these funds can then be put towards future Ticketmaster events.

Ticketmaster’s 30-day-long refund window will open on May 1st, at which time eligible ticketholders will be notified of their options via email.

Surprise! Ticketmaster Isn’t Technically Offering Refunds on All Postponed Shows


Ticketmaster Changes Gears, Will Offer Refunds on 18,000 Postponed Events


In a shocking reversal of their much-maligned policy walk back, Ticketmaster has announced it will issue refunds for more than 18,000 events postponed due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. According to Billboard, starting May 1, once postponed shows announce the rescheduled dates, fans will begin to receive e-mails from Ticketmaster to initiate a full refund. Fans will then have 30 days to request a refund; otherwise, their ticket will be good for the rescheduled date. Ticketmaster parent company, Live Nation Entertainment, will also offer fans an option to receive credit for future shows as well as the opportunity to donate their tickets. This is a partial reversal of policy that had fans outraged, considering Ticketmaster’s long history of defrauding the fans and paying billions in refunds and credits.Continue reading


Ticketmaster Clarifies Its Policy on Refunds, Passes the Blame on Promoters and Venues


In a story we have been following, ticketing company Ticketmaster has issued a statement in response to an outcry from music fans after it recently adjusted the language on its web site regarding refund policies. A few weeks ago — before the coronavirus outbreak forced the cancelation or postponement of most large events and public gatherings — it said people could get refunds “if your event is postponed, rescheduled or canceled”; now it lists only cancelation as a reason for getting your money back, though it suggests there may be other circumstances in which refunds might be considered. Continue reading


Ticketmaster Quietly Changes Its Refund Policy, Screwing Over The Fans


In a new report by www.digitalmusicnews.com, in the maelstrom that is the current concert and music festival landscape with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Ticketmaster has quietly and perhaps deceitfully changed its refund policy to be even less accommodating and unfair than before in light of the current economic situation facing many fans and venues. In other words, because of the entire industry shut down due to coronavirus, they are opting to leave fans holding the bag from cancellations and postponements. Thus, fans will have a near-impossible time getting refunds when many in the world are out of work. As fans are looking for refunds, Ticketmaster changed its refund policy to cover only canceled events — not the many functions that promoters have indefinitely “postponed” or rescheduled to a date/time that some ticket holders cannot make.Continue reading


Tom Morello Responds to Fan Complaints of Rage Against The Machine’s High Ticket Prices


Fans of Rage Against The Machine were elated at the announcement of the return of the much-missed band for 2020. However, following the news that the band has booked a world tour this week, some expressed outrage at the high cost of tickets for the headline shows. Fans and haters have slammed the band, known for their activism and protests for being greedy at the high cost for shows (non-festivals). The band took some measures against scalpers as they have bought 10% of all the tour tickets to ensure those tickets are sold from the band – at a premium cost, but the extra money going to charity. In the midst of all of this, RATM guitarist and activist Tom Morello has taken to Twitter to assure fans that the high cost of tickets is due to scalpers and resellers. Tom claims that the full price for all tickets tops out at $125.00 USD. A high cost, for sure, but lower than many other concert tickets to other tours in 2020. Continue reading


Rage Against The Machine Announces Plan to Combat Online Ticket Scalpers Ahead of Their Tour


Reunited Rap Metal legends Rage Against The Machine has announced a plan to combat online ticket scalping for its upcoming just announced world tour. Tickets for the 40-date “Public Service Announcement” trek don’t officially go on sale until later today Thursday, February 13, you can already buy tickets for most shows on StubHub and for festival dates on Ticketmaster. Unsurprisingly, those tickets are already quite expensive. For example, tickets to the April 28 Tacoma show were listed at $287 each before fees. After service fees and taxes, two tickets to the Oakland, California show on StubHub came out to $783.95, or $391.98 each. The band has made an announcement via their official web site:Continue reading