Washington — There was no scarcity of dangerous blood between senators and ticketing big Reside Nation Leisure at a Senate Judiciary Committee listening to on Tuesday, with lawmakers grilling the highest government from Ticketmaster’s mother or father firm over its enterprise practices and final 12 months’s debacle involving ticket gross sales for Taylor Swift’s upcoming stadium tour.
The proceedings additionally allowed some senators to show they — or perhaps their employees — had been well-versed within the pop star’s discography.
Joe Berchtold, the president and CEO of Reside Nation Leisure, should have recognized he was in bother when he walked in, and shortly discovered himself fielding barbs from senators who questioned whether or not the 2010 merger of Reside Nation and Ticketmaster was stifling competitors within the stay occasions business.
“The very fact of the matter is Reside Nation-Ticketmaster is the 800-pound gorilla right here,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, mentioned. “This complete live performance ticket system is a multitude, a monopolistic mess.”
Describing the results of Reside Nation’s energy and attain, a minimum of one witness recommended Reside Nation and Ticketmaster needs to be damaged up and by no means, ever get again collectively (like, ever).
“The one efficient treatment now could be a structural one: the dissolution of the widespread possession of Ticketmaster and Reside Nation,” mentioned Jack Groetzinger, CEO of Ticketmaster rival SeatGeek. “To enhance our business, we should restore competitors.”
Amid all of the speak about whether or not Reside Nation’s merger with Ticketmaster harm customers, some fearless senators — and one witness — snuck in some Swift lyrics after they had the prospect:
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Democrat of Minnesota
- “Competitors coverage is essential to me. I imagine in capitalism, and to have a powerful capitalist system it’s a must to have competitors, you possibly can’t have an excessive amount of consolidation, one thing that sadly for this nation, as an ode to Taylor Swift, I’ll say, we all know ‘All Too Properly.'”
Sen. Mike Lee, Republican of Utah
Sal Nuzzo, senior vice chairman of The James Madison Institute
- “On this space, we might contend that shopper welfare may be very clearly outlined and reflective of the problems and challenges inside this business. These representing the dominant participant out there would contend that their development has allowed them to innovate and make advances that significantly profit customers. A couple of million Taylor Swift followers would reply ‘this is the reason we will not have good issues.'”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut
In an alternate with reporters outdoors the proceedings, CBS Information congressional correspondent Scott MacFarlane requested Blumenthal whether or not there was any motion the Senate may take past hauling the top of Reside Nation earlier than Congress. He borrowed a line from Swift’s hit “Anti-Hero”: “Ticketmaster ought to look within the mirror and say, ‘I am the issue, it is me.'”
He acquired the prospect to repeat his jab throughout his spherical of questioning within the listening to: “Ticketmaster must look within the mirror and say, ‘I am the issue. It is me.'”
His remark garnered some gentle laughter from these within the room.
