AIF Urges UK’s Competition and Markets Authority to Investigate Live Nation

The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) has called for the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority to investigate Live Nation over anti-competitive behavior.

Some context:

• As per Music Week, AIF recently provided evidence at a Business and Trade Committee inquiry into “pricing, competition and consumer protection.”

• AIF calculated that of the 23 million tickets on sale for arenas, stadiums and outdoor concerts in the UK in 2025, Live Nation and the companies it owns such as Cuffe & Taylor, DF Concerts and Metropolis control 66% of the shows.

• At the hearing the figures were presented to Phil Bowdery, Live Nation’s Executive President, Touring International Music, and Andrew Parsons, Managing Director of Ticketmaster, which is part of Live Nation.

The reply:

• Bowdery commented: “I do not see us as being dominant. We have a lot of competitors. It is a very low-margin business that we run. Globally, we are at about a 3% margin.”

• Parsons pointed to the fact that “some 60% of events and tickets [sold by Ticketmaster] are for non-Live Nation businesses – in other words, competitors to Live Nation, effectively, if you want to think about it in those terms.”

• He added: “To me anyway, that represents one of the clearest examples of a well-functioning and competitive marketplace, and our having to be good at what we do. We have to establish a lot of trust within the business for that to be the case. People outside Live Nation are working with us on merit and on the basis of delivering the best services in support of their shows and their fans.”

AIF’s POV:

• AIF CEO John Rostron said: “Based on our analysis, we believe that there is evidence to suggest that Live Nation could be held responsible for engaging in anti-competitive behavior and we therefore recommend that the Competition and Markets Authority investigate matters.”

• “While we encourage and support organizations and individuals putting on the biggest shows, we wish for the market to be fair where all participants – whether major companies or independents – have opportunities at all levels. That’s why we took this action.”

Other investigations:

• In the US the DOJ’s antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation and Ticketmaster is scheduled for March 2026.

• The DOJ and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are continuing their inquiry in response to President Trump’s executive order regarding “unfair and anticompetitive practices in live ticketing.”