Flashing lights, blasting music, soaring crowds, and long merchandise lines are essential to the concert experience. Previous to that is the rush of getting ready, putting on the perfect outfit, and the torture of the hour-long drive. Concerts are the epitome of live entertainment, allowing fans to connect with their artists through their music. Gavin Esqueda (10) describes his experience as he states, “You listen to this certain artist for so long, only knowing their voice, that once you see them in person and hear them sing, it’s almost surreal. They’re a real person standing not too far from you in real time, performing your favorite songs.” Preceding all that is a different type of rush and torture, the struggle of purchasing tickets. 

The seemingly unnecessarily difficult process of buying tickets is notorious in the concert scene. Concert-goers often find themselves in modern technological warfare in the battle of internet speeds and fast clicking. The infamy of ticketing has been a long-running phenomenon where genuine fans struggle to afford and obtain tickets. These struggles occur from other people, who may or may not know the artist, or even bots filling the queue. Many photos have spread online of Ticketmaster queues exceeding the venues’ capacity. This is especially astounding as regular concert venues such as Kia Forum, Intuit Dome, and Honda Center have a capacity of less than 20,000 (The Forum Tickets, Secret Los Angeles, HONDA Center). 

The motives behind these people or robots waiting in long queues may differ. Oftentimes, bots are used by resellers to purchase tickets at a lower price and charge higher prices to make money. Even after getting through the queue, the overload of people trying to buy tickets means that even during payment for a ticket, it may already be purchased. Fans also have to face regular listeners or others who buy concert tickets just to spend money, some even buying VIP or floor tickets. This led to a popular suggestion that purchasing tickets requires some sort of prerequisite for a specific artist. 

Even with these solutions, though, the other people buying tickets is not the root of all problems when purchasing tickets – it’s the platform. Ticketmaster is a notoriously difficult platform to buy tickets on because of high traffic and prices. These difficulties stem from the merging of two large companies, Live Nation and Ticketmaster. The two have created a monopoly on the ticket industry by ensuring tickets must be sold on Ticketmaster and eliminating competition. The removal of competition allows the companies to do as they please, charging high fees and allowing poor website traffic. 

As someone who regularly purchases from Ticketmaster, YLHS student Emma Wang (10) confirms, “As someone who is a frequent concert-goer, I can’t exactly say I’m a fan of Ticketmaster. Purchasing tickets is a stressful process, as it is a very competitive atmosphere. Normally, depending on the artist, queuing can take up to two or three hours. It’s all a matter of how committed you are.” Her words simply reaffirm the time struggle needed for tickets.

These struggles in action are best shown in the lawsuit brought by 400 of Taylor Swift’s fans against Ticketmaster in December 2022. These fans claimed that the hours of waiting were ultimately fruitless and that the tickets that did appear were greatly priced up by Ticketmaster themselves, not resellers. This then resulted in the U.S. Department of Justice filing an antitrust lawsuit that sought to break up Live Nation and Ticketmaster, hopefully removing their monopoly on the market. The company responds by justifying its high prices, deeming that most of the fees are paid to the venues, thus leaving the two with no benefits. Ultimately, while the case is on pause, the prevailing issue is the anticompetitive market Ticketmaster and Live Nation have established. Fans hope to see this gone, and an easier and friendlier market for tickets to be established soon(WIRED).

The trouble of purchasing tickets continues to exist, but it represents a much larger issue. The issue of monopolies in certain industries that allow those companies practically free rein in the market, destroying competition. It’s this lack of competition in the market that ultimately is a loss for any consumer, whether concert-goers or others. Hopefully, the lawsuit against Ticketmaster will succeed and allow fans to enjoy their favorite artists in person, without the extreme hassle.