Four Corners program scrutinises Live Nation’s practices within Australian music industry

ABC's ‘Four Corners’ program which aired tonight, scrutinised the practices of Live Nation - the world’s largest live entertainment company, behind some of the biggest concerts globally (Coldplay, Harry Styles, and Pink) – and its expansion into the Australian music industry.

A live concert is a significant operation involving the artist, their manager, a booking agent, the promoter that finances the show, organises the venues, ticketing, and marketing. In the past, many of these players operated independently.

The ABC program suggested that Live Nation’s "industry takeover" along with its ticketing practices is “tearing the Australian music scene apart.”

ABC began promoting tonight’s program late last week, alleging monopolistic behaviour and “maximising profits at the expense of both consumers and artists”.

Live Nation claimed that the ABC report into its expansion and practices would likely be “inaccurate and unbalanced” adding “the program was obviously fully formed without any input from Live Nation.”

The statement from Live Nation added that Australia’s live entertainment industry remained highly competitive, evidenced by Live Nation being one of many live music promoters in the country.

Alongside the airing of ABC’s Four Corners there are mounting calls for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to investigate business practices in the live music industry.

In a statement released today, Greens’ spokesperson for the arts, Sarah Hanson-Young, said ABC was looking to spotlight “just how much artists and music audiences may be getting ripped off” adding “Credible reports of ticket price gouging, super surge pricing and hidden ticket charges are all serious concerns and matters for the ACCC.

“Multinational corporations like Live Nation own large parts of this supply chain and are clearly making billions, but we need to make sure that the local artists, audiences and small-to-medium venues we love are getting a fair deal.”

Headquartered in Los Angeles, USA the multinational last year recorded a net profit of US$563 million (A$834 million). Its third-largest shareholder is Saudi Arabia’s public investment fund, controlled by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The company saw a record revenue in 2023, earning nearly $US23 billion ($34 billion), with its Chief Executive Michael Rapino among the highest paid in the USA.

Notwithstanding these staggering figures, Live Nation Australia and its subsidiaries have collected more than A$24 million in Federal and State Government grants since Covid-19, including $8 million from the West Australian Government to subsidise two Coldplay concerts in Perth last year.

Earlier this year a number of music promoters, producers and ticket company owners alleged via a number of media platforms that festival goers and artists were losing out because of Live Nation’s vertically integrated business model, where it owns or manages venues, represents artists and holds exclusive ticketing rights through Ticketmaster.

Some artists claimed they were being forced into outrageous contracts that heavily restricted them from playing at alternative gigs or venues run by Live Nation competitors.

ABC reported that Live Nation can get paid numerous times for one concert or tour and a big slice of what fans pay for inside: it’s a model called vertical integration, and artists are often unaware it’s happening.

In Australia, the company owns Moshtix and allows customers to resell tickets on Ticketmaster.

Live Nation also charges fees on those resold tickets, boosting its overall profits.

It operates venues like Melbourne’s Palais Theatre and Kings Park in Perth, owns Anita’s Theatre in Wollongong, Brisbane’s Fortitude Music Hall, and Adelaide’s Hindley Street Music Hall.

It owns Secret Sounds, which is behind major music festivals like Splendour in the Grass and Falls, as well as touring companies, and TSP Merchandising, which makes band merch.

Live Nation Entertainment, Inc, was formed in 2010 following the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster – a merger approved by the US Government.

At the time, the industry feared it was creating a massive music monopoly and since then the behemoth has been fined more than $US160 million for fraud and overcharging customers.

In August 2024, Reuters reported that Attorneys General from over 20 US states were seeking treble damages against Live Nation Entertainment (LYV.N) and its ticket-selling unit, Ticketmaster, for allegedly monopolising markets across the live concert industry in an updated version of a lawsuit originally filed in May.

The US Justice Department and several states sued three months ago to break up Live Nation, arguing the concert promoter and Ticketmaster illegally inflated concert ticket prices and hurt artists.

The lawsuit states Live Nation directly manages more than 400 musical artists and controls around 60% of concert promotions at major venues. According to the complaint, Live Nation owns or controls more than 265 concert venues in North America, and through Ticketmaster controls roughly 80% or more of big venues’ primary ticketing for concerts.

The DOJ said in court papers that the "vast scope" of Live Nation and Ticketmaster allowed them to "insert themselves at the center and the edges of virtually every aspect of the live music ecosystem."

In July the ACCC told a parliamentary inquiry it was following the US lawsuit closely and acknowledged there was “some consistency in behaviours” exercised by Live Nation in Australia.

ABC Four Corners reported that many in the live music industry fear a similar pattern could emerge in Australia if the company is left unchecked noting  “after dominating the United States, Live Nation is now increasing its power in Australia, where small venues and music festivals are fighting for survival.”

The Four Corners investigation attracted comments from an array of Australian live music insiders and artists angered by the practices of Live Nation with tickets for live music now often involving hundreds of dollars (and as the ABC reported - sometimes thousands) to see a “superstar” perform in a stadium or arena.

In Australia, the average ticket price is now $105: 20 years ago it was just $65. It’s increase is a result of COVID-19, inflation, and the rising costs of putting on gigs.

With VIP packages and ticket scalping today, some people are paying thousands to see their favourite artists.

On ticketing, the Four Corners program claimed that consumers aren’t being told by Ticketmaster, and its main competitor Ticketek, about a range of hidden fees.

On these hidden fees, booking agent Paul Sloan, who works with artists like Thom Yorke, Nick Cave, and Amyl and the Sniffers, told ABC “they’re called transaction fees, booking fees, service fees, infrastructure fees.”

There’s also a fee called the “inside charge” which consumers aren’t told about.

Four Corners revealed that Sloan along with several other industry figures want to know what an “inside charge” actually means.

In the statement addressing the Four Corners program, Live Nation said Ticketmaster did not set ticket prices, “nor do we have or offer algorithmic surge pricing technologies.

“However, like other ticketing companies, we have tools to help artist teams understand demand for their tickets. It is the artist teams who decide which tools to use and how to best balance revenue goals with fan access.”

ABC also highlighted that Ticketmaster’s main competitor, Ticketek, said fees support “Ticketek’s investment in services, innovation, and venue and technology infrastructure, to provide e-commerce and access control technology”.

The Guardian reports that James Naughton, partner at the Melbourne-based lawyers Gordon Legal, confirmed that after being contacted by a number of people with concerns about Live Nation’s “dynamic pricing model and their ticketing model” they are investigating potential claims against the company.

While emerging musicians struggle to sustain a career, Live Nation promoted 50,000 shows for 6,800 artists globally last year.

Alongside Live Nation, there  are two other major live music companies in Australia. Promoter TEG — backed by US private equity firm Silver Lake — owns Australia’s largest ticketing agent, Ticketek, as well as Qudos Bank Arena and Laneway Festival.

The other, Frontier Touring, is backed by global promoter AEG, which put on some of Australia’s most profitable gigs last year, including Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney, and Elton John.

Live Nation’s spokeswoman said “The live music industry in Australia is thriving, with more competition among concert promoters than ever.’

Veteran Australian promoter Michael Chugg partners with Frontier Touring and said he put on Coldplay’s tours locally for years until Live Nation entered the scene.

Chugg told ABC “I lost Coldplay to Live Nation, that’s the biggest one I’ve lost to them.

“I started with Coldplay in a 200-seated venue way back and we built together to get to stadiums.

“Live Nation offered them a worldwide tour and I know that [Coldplay singer] Chris Martin didn’t want to leave us. Live Nation just kept adding millions and millions and in the end, we lost out.”

Before Live Nation entered Australia in 2010, Chugg, along with Michael Gudinski, were the top promoters within the Australian live music industry.

“We didn’t abuse it though,” Chugg told ABC when asked about whether the pair had dominated the industry in that era as Live Nation is doing now.

“Live Nation f***ed it up, basically, they pay too much for acts … it’s all about their share price.”

Artists like Peter Garrett are now imploring the Australian government to step in and combat Live Nation’s growing power.

“We need to make sure that governments have rules in place, regulations, tax issues, support, to protect and nourish Australian artists, and that Australian fans get the opportunity and do take up that opportunity to support them as well.”

Globally, small to mid-sized venues where artists develop their craft are closing.

In Australia alone, more than 1,300 have shut down since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Live Nation told Four Corners it ran programs to nurture “the next generation of talent” and has promoted more than 900 shows in small venues since 2016.

“We are proud our Live Nation Australia team is operated by local Australians who live and work here to bring in some of the world’s biggest acts to local fans while championing Australian talent and fuelling growth in the live music sector.”