Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has teamed up with liberal New York AG Letitia James to reject a settlement negotiated by the Trump administration over Live Nation’s alleged antitrust violations. While President Trump’s settlement was widely recognized for preserving a lighter-touch regulatory framework, Paxton appears eager to return to the aggressive antitrust enforcement of the Biden years — a period marked by the across-the-board targeting of American businesses arbitrarily deemed "too big." From an economic standpoint, Paxton’s new alliance should be viewed as disconcerting.
Whether due to ignorance or political motivations, the effort to continue prosecuting a key player in the American entertainment industry relies on arguments that fail common sense. Claims that Live Nation hurts fans and artists alike is readily disproved by the market: if artists viewed Live Nation as harmful, the company could not possibly manage a talent roster of its current magnitude.
Similarly, if fans viewed Live Nation as detrimental, they would not have voted with their hard-earned dollars to make the company the massive success it is today. Despite any grievance a concertgoer may have over a perceived "extra" fee, the fact remains that consumers seek out Live Nation shows for their extraordinary talent level and unique production standards.
Tying this back to those perceived "extra" fees, it should be noted that artists set their own ticket prices, at least initially. But as is the case when you purchase a new car, a baseball card, or a concert ticket, customers also have the ability to resell what they buy. An artist may choose to initially sell a ticket for $40, but none of this changes market forces, including the basic laws of supply and demand. The simple reality is the demand to see today’s top artists vastly outstrips the supply of tickets. Many more people wanted to see the Eras Tour, for instance, than there were tickets available — which means a lucrative resale market is the obvious outcome. Buyers are willing to pay significantly more than face value to attend top shows — which creates a massive incentive for individual sellers to try to capitalize.
Understanding the basic mechanics of why the ticket resale market exists reveals that attacking it is a fool’s errand. The government cannot decree Taylor Swift tickets “cheap.”
While the attacks by Ken Paxton and Letitia James will do nothing to lower concert prices, they may unfortunately succeed in damaging a globally significant brand and leader in the entertainment industry. Efforts to make Live Nation ‘smaller’ simply reduces its ability to invest in its own productions — which doesn’t put artists first or fans first.
Trump’s administration successfully negotiated an end to this war on music that served nobody.
Paxton, as well as the other AGs, should change their tune.
