Overview

• Days after Michael Rapino’s remarks, the FTC filed a lawsuit alleging Ticketmaster hid fees, allowed brokers to exceed purchase limits, and profited from marked-up resales on its own platform.
• Pollstar’s 2024 report lists average ticket prices around $136 for the top 100 tours, with venue-level averages that imply a blended figure closer to $83, both higher than $72.
• Rapino cited rising production costs to justify pricing, pointing to large-scale tours like Beyoncé’s using dozens of transport trucks and saying many artists forfeit margin for the show.
• Market indicators from Pollstar show more festival and tour cancellations in 2024 and declines in grosses and tickets sold even as average prices ticked up.
• Regulatory scrutiny is intensifying, with the DOJ antitrust case against Live Nation moving forward after a judge rejected a dismissal bid and UK officials pursuing a resale price cap and a review of dynamic pricing.