John Scher

High ticket costs are creating a financial strain on concertgoers.

LOS ANGELES, UNITED STATES, March 15, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ -- John Scher, renowned entertainment CEO, says the significant rise in ticket prices means fans are forced to frequent concerts less often. The "vertical monopoly" that Live Nation has been allowed to create by the government has squeezed the pockets of fans, says Scher. "They are the largest management company in the business, and those managers nearly exclusively sell their tours to their concert division," says Scher. According to Scher, Live Nation can set its prices at any level they choose because of its conglomerate reach into the concert sector.

"They are by far the owner of the most amphitheaters, estimated to be 90% of the larger venues of this type. At these venues, they can make a huge profit from concessions, parking, facility fees, and ticketing. Their size also enables them to get significant fees from sponsors," says Scher.

Live Nation refutes claims that it controls the concert market exclusively. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Joe Berchtold, President and CFO of Live Nation, says, "It seems to be, pick any random data pack you want, and it's 'Ticketmaster's a monopoly, therefore, Live Nation-Ticketmaster should be broken up.' And there's, if that were your proof in geometry, you would have failed," he said. However, members of congress and Scher disagree with Berchtold. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) led a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing recently called "That's the Ticket: Promoting Competition and Protecting Consumers in Live Entertainment," informed the Hollywood reporter. According to the news source, Klobuchar and Lee were particularly interested in whether Live Nation had broken the terms of their consent decree, a set of rules and divestitures that Live Nation and Ticketmaster committed to when they combined to ensure competition. According to Scher, Live Nation's monopoly on the market has hurt eager fans who want to see their favorite act live.

"Their earnings from all these ancillary profits that the acts do not share in gives them an edge to outbid nearly every other promoter for national tours and individual shows. They have raised ticket prices so high that the average concertgoer doesn't have the capital to go to smaller shows as frequently as in the past," explains Scher.

Supporters have reportedly been drawing attention to the price differences and the prohibitive ticket costs for a while. According to Time, the price gouging was brought to light in a TikTok by a fan who created a spreadsheet to compare the costs of the "Official Platinum" ticket category for Styles' Madison Square Garden residency. The user's research says the average ticket costs over $600, while a single seat might cost over $3,000. Scher says high ticket prices make attending concerts costly and difficult for many fans.

"This represents a real loss to both the creative artist and the audience," Scher concludes.

To find out more about John Scher, click here to visit his LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnscher/

Aurora DeRose
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