‘Culture of fear’ expose in music industry as ticket prices skyrocket | Politics | News
Oasis fans were excited about the reunion, but it wasn’t about selling tickets. (Image: AP)
An investigation into Britain’s live music industry has raised the alarm about a “culture of fear” that makes people afraid to speak out. Anger over high ticket prices for major concerts has triggered an investigation by Westminster’s business and trade committee. It is now calling on the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to launch a full investigation into the sector before the end of the year.
There was public outrage over the marketing of tickets for Oasis’ reunion concerts in 2024. The CMA found that Ticketmaster was selling “platinum” tickets in some areas of the venue for around 2.5 times the standard price, despite them having no advantage over regular tickets. Both representatives of Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation were questioned by lawmakers. The committee stated that “there are serious concerns about the state of competition in the live music industry in the UK”. It found that Live Nation “directly controls 58% of the 23.1 million tickets available for sale in 2025, rising to 66% when sales controlled by its subsidiaries are included.”
Former Treasury Undersecretary Liam Byrne, who chaired the committee, voiced his concerns: “The UK’s live music scene is one of our great national success stories, from grassroots venues nurturing new talent to world-class arena and stadium tours attracting global audiences. But the evidence we have obtained during this investigation points to deep concerns about whether competition in the industry now works fairly for fans, artists, venues and independent promoters.”
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He continued: “What particularly alarmed the committee was not just the scale of Live Nation’s market position on promotions, venues and ticketing, but also the climate of fear we encountered during this investigation. A striking number of submissions requested anonymity as people were concerned about the consequences of speaking out. This alone raises profound questions about the health of competition in the market. The CMA needs to launch a full market investigation before the end of this year so that consumers, artists and independent businesses are given a fair deal.”
The investigation was told Live Nation’s business model “makes it difficult for artists and managers to operate independently of its ecosystem.” Smaller and independent festivals have also found it “increasingly difficult to access talent”.
Phil Bowdery, executive chairman of the Live Nation tour, disputed the idea that the company had a “dominant” position when he appeared before the committee.
He said: “We’re very good at what we do. That’s why big artists are attracted to Live Nation.”
MPs were told that Live Nation “uses long-term agreements with restrictive exclusivity terms that make access to its venues conditional on attendance at festivals (or vice versa), encourages artists to combine touring arrangements with the company, and reduces opportunities for rival promoters and events.”
A spokesperson for Live Nation UK said: “This report misrepresents the UK live music industry, relying on inaccurate data and unsupported conclusions. Live Nation competes for tours, venues and artists every day in a highly competitive market. We will engage constructively with any processes that benefit artists, fans and the wider industry, but discussion of the industry must be based on evidence, not claims and rumours.”
Liam Byrne led high-profile investigations by the business and trade committee (Image:-)
Rocio Concha from consumer organization Which? He said: “This report raises serious competition concerns in the live music industry. The scale and scope of Live Nation’s vertical integration and control of ticket sales appear to have created an ecosystem that has stifled competition. As a result, fans are getting an unfair deal with high prices and few alternatives. The CMA should seriously consider the committee’s call for a full market investigation.”
A spokesperson for Ticketmaster UK said: “Venues, artists and promoters choose Ticketmaster because of the reliability of our technology and service, and fans use our marketplace because it is easy to use, transparent and secure. Ticketmaster UK has been capping resale prices at face value since 2018. Ticketmaster supports stronger rules to protect its fans, including a universally agreed resale price cap. Ticketmaster is supporting the Government to make buying tickets clearer, safer and more secure.” Trusted to continue working with promoters, artists and event organizers.”
Labor peer Lord Brennan, who chaired a “fan-led” review into live and electronic music, said: “I welcome the committee’s conclusions about competition in the live music industry, which reflect the concerns expressed to me by UK concertgoers during my fan-led live music review. I hope the CMA will now act on these recommendations.”
