Live Nation and subsidiary Ticketmaster have been issued with a subpoena for documents regarding ticket pricing, fees and secondary sales.
According to a report from Rolling Stone, a US Senate subcommittee issued the subpoena to the live music giant and its ticketing platform late last week.
The subpoena, obtained by the media outlet, comes eight months after the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations first launched an inquiry into Live Nation over its business practices. The March inquiry had not been publicly reported prior to the subpoena filing.
Subcommittee chairman Senator Richard Blumenthal has claimed in the subpoena that Live Nation has not cooperated with the request so far.
Sen. Blumenthal reiterated this point on X, formerly Twitter, and said: “Live Nation has egregiously stonewalled my Subcommittee’s inquiry into its abusive consumer practices – making the subpoena necessary.
“This subpoena demands that the company promptly comply with our request for documents essential to understand its business practices.”
Live Nation has egregiously stonewalled my Subcommittee’s inquiry into its abusive consumer practices—making the subpoena necessary. This subpoena demands that the company promptly comply with our request for documents essential to understand its business practices. https://t.co/VxIu5gZecZ
— Richard Blumenthal (@SenBlumenthal) November 21, 2023
In a statement to Rolling Stone, a Live Nation representative commented: “Live Nation has voluntarily worked with the Subcommittee from the start, providing extensive information and holding several meetings with staff.
“In order to provide additional information requested about artist and client compensation and other similarly sensitive matters, we’ve asked for standard confidentiality measures. Thus far the Subcommittee has refused to provide such assurances, but if and when those protections are in place we will provide additional information on these issues.”
The subpoena has also asked for documents relating to resale practices and the company’s relationship with artists and venues.
More specifically, the subpoena has asked for financial data related to fees; Live Nation and Ticketmaster’s guidance on ticket pricing; business strategy documents and analysis on ticketing pricing, secondary ticketing and bots; communications relating to incidents with bots in 2022 and certain venues; and customer research and surveys regarding ticket pricing and fees.
Live Nation and Ticketmaster’s dominance was the subject of a Senate Judiciary Committee in January, which saw Live Nation Entertainment president and chief financial officer Joe Berchtold face sharp criticism.
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