Lie Nation

Photo via Isabella Villalobos

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The sidewalk near Lincoln Center was recently adorned with stencilled graffiti of the words “Lie Nation,” a clever play on words of the infamous “Live Nation Entertainment Inc” company. According to their website, “Live Nation produces more concerts, sells more tickets, and connects more brands to music than anyone else in the world.” Sixteen years ago, Live Nation merged with Ticketmaster, a dominant ticketing platform. Together, the companies quickly emerged as two powerhouses in the world of entertainment, particularly in the United States. On April 15, a jury found Live Nation guilty of operating an illegal monopoly, and calls for Ticketmaster to split from the business emerged. In response to the verdict, Live Nation attorney David R. Marriott stated, “we are big,” “[this] is not against the law” and “we are fierce competitors.” 

Multiple artists have faced difficulties with the selling of their tickets on Ticketmaster for their fans, most notably, Taylor Swift and Olivia Dean. According to Forbes Magazine, Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour generated a record breaking total. “The $2 billion gross doubles the previous industry record of $1 billion set by Coldplay’s 156-date Music of the Spheres World Tour in August.” When the tickets for the tour first dropped, it was a bloodbath. In a statement posted on Ticketmaster’s official website, they stated “this time the staggering number of bot attacks as well as fans who didn’t have codes drove unprecedented traffic on our site, resulting in 3.5 billion total system requests—4x our previous peak.” 

The 2026 Grammy Awards’ Best New Artist, Olivia Dean, recently experienced similar Ticketmaster chaos as Swift. When the tickets for her upcoming “The Art of Loving Life,” tour were released, fans experienced Ticketmaster crashing and selling resale tickets that were marked up at much higher prices. In response, Dean posted on her Instagram: “You are providing a disgusting service. The prices at which you’re allowing tickets to be re-sold is vile and completely against our wishes. Live music should be affordable and accessible, and we need to find a new way of making that possible. BE BETTER.” 

The following year, in 2023, lawyers from both political parties had a Senate Judiciary hearing to declare Live Nation as a monopoly. During the hearing, Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, referring to Live Nation, is quoted as saying, “I want to congratulate and thank you for an absolutely stunning achievement. You have brought together Republicans and Democrats in an absolutely unified cause.”  

When Live Nation first sought to purchase Ticketmaster in 2010, the Justice Department approved the merger to occur under the pretence that Live Nation could not penalize venues for not using Ticketmaster as their sole ticket selling platform. Nearly a decade, Live Nation was found guilty by the Justice Department for violating those conditions. Since then, urges have been made by the DOJ for Ticketmaster to split from Live Nation on the basis that a monopoly is being run by the organization.  

Despite differing opinions and political views, many people have one common goal: fair concert rates. As our world grows to be full of political turmoil and divisive opinions, people should not be penalized or unable to attend concerts for their favorite artists because monopolies like Live Nation exist. In a 1993 interview, Nirvana was once asked about Madonna charging upwards of $50 for concert tickets. To which the late Kurt Cobain stated, “Who charges $50 for a concert ticket?!… Madonna? Wow,” as Nirvana tickets were selling for around $17. As time goes on, one thing is certain, concert tickets will continue to rise.

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This article was edited by Karol Quinde.