Ticketmaster, look what you made me do

OPINION:

Americans love music. For generations, people have gathered with family and friends in venues across the land to celebrate the talents of their favorite artists and entertainers. Until now.

While Attorney General Merrick Garland and I don’t often agree on issues, we do when it comes to breaking up this monopoly.

That is precisely why we announced that we have joined efforts in the fight against Live Nation and its company Ticketmaster. Perhaps to no other state is music as important as it is to Tennessee. And our people have had their pocketbooks pillaged by the monopoly that Live Nation created. It has negatively affected artists, music venues and concertgoers across the United States. With this lawsuit, the crumbling of their crafty scheme began.

Since I began this fight in 2022, 29 attorneys general from red states, blue states and everyone in between have joined. After Americans and fans worldwide fell prey to Ticketmaster’s ridiculous antics at the launch of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour, I instructed my office to start working toward this lawsuit.

We could not sit and watch Live Nation and Ticketmaster continue to destroy Americans’ love of music. For too long, they have effectively held hostage our artists, venues and fans, as well as the people behind the scenes who make concerts happen. This company has harmed music fans with skyrocketing fees, lack of transparency, fewer consumer choices and stifled innovation. Therefore, we took the fight to Live Nation and Ticketmaster.

Our lawsuit simply asks the court to restore competition to the live entertainment industry by breaking up Live Nation and Ticketmaster’s monopoly. We want to slam the brakes on their scheme to corner the concert market, which has caused ticket prices to surge for concertgoers. In my state alone, entertainment fans spent $765 million between 2019 and 2022. My guess is that the 2023 and 2024 numbers will be even bigger.

These artificially inflated prices need to come down for the sake of every American who loves music. For this to happen, we are asking the court to order Live Nation to divest Ticketmaster so Americans can again afford to enjoy their favorite artists at their favorite venues across the country.

In this era of bipartisan bickering, I am glad that people from both parties have rallied to protect one of the most enjoyable pastimes in our great nation. Talented artists and their global fan bases should be able to flock to concerts and other events without being bankrupted by billionaire bullies squeezing them for every extra penny.

We have a long way to the finish line, but the lawsuit we filed should give everyone who loves music hope for a more affordable future. When we prevail in this suit, Americans will soon be able to create memories and engage with something they love.

• Jonathan Skrmetti is Tennessee’s attorney general.