(vip-booking) – Live Nation Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Michael Rapino recently expressed support for capping ticket resale prices in the US, marking a significant shift for the company.
Speaking at the Bloomberg Screentime conference, Rapino said, “We would love for resale to be regulated… cap it at 20%.”
Live Nation’s stance on secondary ticketing has evolved over the years. In the early days of online scalping, Ticketmaster actively participated in for-profit resale by setting up and acquiring resale platforms. However, after mounting criticism from artists and fans, it exited its for-profit resale business in Europe in 2018, though it continued the practice in the US, where opposition to ticket reselling was less vocal.
More recently, even in the US, Live Nation has supported some resale restrictions, arguing that artists should control how their tickets are resold, which they can do within the Ticketmaster system.
This shift came in response to growing criticism, although some suggest it also benefits Ticketmaster’s newer tools like dynamic pricing. Live Nation likely prefers lawmakers to regulate secondary rather than primary ticketing.
Rapino also pointed to the ongoing battle against professional touts using bots to buy tickets, revealing that bots hit the Oasis reunion sale with billions of requests. These bots, he explained, are part of a $12 billion industry, making it a constant “arms race” for Ticketmaster to prevent them from snatching tickets.
The technical challenges of fighting bots can lead to platform crashes, as seen with Taylor Swift’s 2022 ticket sales, which Rapino believes contributed to Live Nation’s current legal troubles with the US Department of Justice.
Fans frustrated by overpriced resale tickets often blame Ticketmaster. Rapino said, “What really pisses them off is scalpers selling $4000 tickets,” which leaves fans questioning how tickets are resold so quickly after sellouts.
