👉 Background: Ticketmaster is the ticket sales company that was founded back in 1976, managing the tickets for some of the biggest shows in the whole word - from AFL matches to Taylor Swift and Coldplay concerts.

👉 What happened: In 2010, Ticketmaster merged with Live Nation, a global operator of live entertainment. After the merger, the new company became the dominant market player. And now, the US Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against Ticketmaster for alleged monopolistic practises.

👉 What else: This lawsuit has come off the back of the horrific ticket-buying-experience that Swifties endured, when Taylor Swift tickets came out in 2022. That debacle got the US legislators taking a closer look at Ticketmaster's control over the industry.

What's the key learning?

💡Monopolistic practices occur when a company dominates a market so much that competitors don’t stand a chance. This dominance can stifle competition and hurt consumers with higher prices and limited choices.

💡Ticketmaster is absolutely dominating the ticketing industry at the moment, especially in the US. In fact, in 2023 alone, it distributed over 620 million tickets worldwide.

💡So the Justice Department is hoping to break up Ticketmaster and Live Nation to reintroduce competition…which would hopefully lead to fairer prices for consumers.