The U.K.’s Parliamentary trade committee has urged the Competition and Markets Authority to investigate the live music industry as a matter of urgency, saying that Live Nation operates in a “climate of fear.”
The House of Commons Business and Trade Committee, a cross-party group made of MPs from both sides of the aisle, launched an inquiry into the U.K.’s live music industry market last December.
After initially refusing to attend, Ticketmaster appeared before the committee last February before returning in June with parent company Live Nation.
Live Nation’s executive president Phil Bowdery told the committee, “We are very good at what we do. Therefore, there is interest from the major artists to be with Live Nation,” by way of explaining the company’s large market share in live music venues, including arenas.
However in a new report, the committee says it was left with “serious concerns” about the state of competition in the U.K. live music industry and suggest that Live Nation’s dominant market position may have created a “climate of fear.” It was particularly alarmed by the large proportion of anonymous or confidential responses it received to its call for written evidence “due to fear of reprisal primarily from Live Nation.”
