AAI Competition Roundtable: Breaking the Monopoly in Ticketing – Policies for Restoring Competition and Protecting Consumers

AAI will host an in-person roundtable on October 20, 2022 to unpack ongoing, systemic competition problems in event ticketing. Despite decades of fines, consent decrees, and attention from policymakers, competition issues continue to vex U.S. ticketing markets. Ticketmaster’s deeply entrenched monopoly in the primary ticketing market persists, despite a consent decree in place since the 2010 merger between Ticketmaster and Live Nation. In the interim, Ticketmaster has extended its presence to the secondary ticketing market. Led by AAI’s February 2020 letter to the U.S. Department of Justice on its decision to extend the consent decree, calls for enforcers to revisit that 2010 merger are growing louder. Legislative proposals to improve transparency in primary and secondary ticketing have also gained ground. These developments beg the question of what it would take to restore effective competition in ticketing.

The expert panel discussion will gather competition experts with diverse perspectives to examine a number of key questions. Can anything short of structural relief revive competition in ticketing? What market conditions and practices have facilitated Ticketmaster’s such complete dominance? What would it mean to break up a merger a dozen years post-consummation and should that be done through Section 2 or Section 7? How do characteristics of the ticketing market, including developments in ticketing technology and transferability, invite monopolization? If so, how can these market characteristics be mitigated, or managed? Can technology be deployed to break through barriers to entry and improve the experience of artists and consumers? The roundtable will focus on developing concrete and practical proposals to restore and reinvigorate competition in event ticketing.

Location:

Capitol Visitors Center (First St. NE, Washington DC 20515), Room SVC-209. Please use the CVC entrance  directly across the street from the Supreme Court on First St. NE.

When entering the Capitol Visitor Center, event attendees will be asked to present all carried items for inspection. Food, beverages (including bottled water) are prohibited in the building. Click here for a complete list of items prohibited in the Capitol. Business dress is expected. All non-Hill staff attendees will need check in at security, present ID, and be escorted by staff to the meeting room in the SVC.

DOWNLOAD THE APP BEFORE ARRIVAL:

The conference will be paperless. Please download the Eventee app from the App store on your phone or go to this link on your phone: https://eventee.co/event/67431

Registration

Registration is closed. There is no day-of or on-site registration. Contact aai@antitrustinstitute.org with questions.