Live Nation responds to ‘inaccuracies aired’ on Four Corners as ABC ‘stands by’ investigation
Live Nation has issued an extensive fact sheet that systematically responds to a number of claims made by Four Corners in a report aired last night on the ABC.
Four Corners ran a report on Live Nation on Monday evening, levelling a range of accusations at the company, whose market dominance and vertical business model the ABC claims is harming the local music industry and “squeezing out local competition”.
We spoke to ABC journalist Avani Dias this morning about the episode.
Live Performance Australia, the country’s peak body for live music, then sent Mumbrella a response, from Evelyn Richardson, CEO of Live Performance Australia.
“Any discussion about the state of Australia’s live music industry needs to be focused on the facts – something regrettably missing from the ABC ‘Four Corners’ program last night. As the peak body for the live arts and entertainment industry, it’s disappointing that we weren’t approached for comment or data which could have led to a more informed story.
“There’s no doubt some parts of the music industry are under real pressure, but to blame all of those problems on a single company is nonsensical and counter-productive to addressing the real issues at stake. Many of the challenges facing the Australian industry are being experienced globally.”
ABC then issued Mumbrella with a response to this, as well as the Live Nation ‘facts’ release:
“Four Corners program “Music for Sale” is important public interest journalism scrutinising issues that Australians have a right to be fully informed about. Live Nation is a dominant player in the Australian live music industry and has received millions in taxpayer-funded government grants.
“The report was the result of months of work and the Four Corners team spoke to dozens of people across the industry for its research to represent their perspectives in the story. It included the views of a range of industry insiders and leading musicians. The team requested an interview with Live Nation more than a month in advance of the story and put detailed questions to them, and its responses were included.”
In addition, ABC’s news director Justin Stevens said: “Avani Dias and the Four Corners team are thorough and ethical journalists and the ABC stands behind their work.”
Live Nation released the following response to the claims made in the Four Corners program.
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In response to Four Corners’ program which aired on Monday 14th October, Live Nation would like to set the record straight on inaccuracies aired.
Australia’s live entertainment industry is highly competitive evident by the fact that Live Nation is one of many promoters with TEG and Frontier among the top, while Ticketek is the largest ticketing agent in the country, and Live Nation operates less than 1% of music venues in the country (6 out of the approximately 2,700 venues).
The economics of our business follow the same industry models as these other players.
We are proud our Live Nation Australia team is operated by local Australians who live and work here to bring in some of the world’s biggest acts to local fans while championing Australian talent and fuelling growth in the live music sector.
Our investments in artists, venues, event organisers, and entrepreneurs have enriched Australia’s cultural landscape and created thousands of jobs.
In the last 12 months, 200 Australian artists earned $40 million through tours promoted by Live Nation companies, and we’ve successfully advocated for local Australian opening acts in 85% of the international acts we promote here.
Australia’s Live Entertainment Industry
Australia’s live entertainment industry is highly competitive, evident by the fact that Live Nation is one of many promoters with TEG and Frontier among the top, while Ticketek is the largest ticketing agent in the country, and Live Nation operates less than 1% of music venues in the country (6 out of the approximately 2,700 venues).
The economics of our business follow the same industry models as these other players.
We are proud our Live Nation Australia team is operated by local Australians who live and work here to bring in some of the world’s biggest acts to local fans while championing Australian talent and fuelling growth in the live music sector.
Our investments in artists, venues, event organisers, and entrepreneurs have enriched Australia’s cultural landscape and created thousands of jobs.
Supporting Australian Artists
In the last 12 months, 200 Australian artists earned $40 million through tours promoted by Live Nation companies, and we’ve successfully advocated for local Australian opening acts in 85% of the international acts we promote here.
Since 2016, Live Nation has promoted over 900 shows for developing artists in venues less than 1,500 pax capacity – reaching more than 556,000 fans.
We’ve successfully advocated for local Australian opening acts in 85% of the international acts we promote here. This includes Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers and Cosmic Psychos on Pearl Jam and more recently Anna Lunoe on The Weeknd.
Our business thrives on nurturing the next generation of talent, and we offer programs like Ones to Watch to foster emerging artists. We represent more than 170 Australian artists across our agency roster, and these are predominantly developing and emerging artists – on average, 85% of these have played a show in the last year.
We recognise the vital role grassroots music venues play in discovering new talent and applaud efforts to support these spaces. A healthy music industry depends on small and large venues fostering an upward trajectory for artists to grow. Bigger venues can support grassroots venues by promoting local talent, hosting showcases, or even offering mentorship programs. This interplay creates a pathway for new talent, keeping the music scene vibrant and the industry thriving.
As dedicated operators in this space, we’re eager to discuss measures that strengthen the Australian music industry and ensure artists have the opportunity to grow and succeed.
Live Nation’s Share of Venues
According to industry sources, there are approximately 2,700 live music venues here in Australia. Live Nation operates just six.
Breaking that down by states, in New South Wales, with about 795 venues, Live Nation makes up 0.126% of the market. While Music Victoria’s 2022 census reports approximately 1,000 live music venues in Victoria, where Live Nation makes up 0.2% of the market.
Live Nation welcomes all acts and promoters to its venues to present a variety of exciting experiences for fans.
85% of performances held in Live Nation owned or operated venues are promoted by industry peers.
Combined, the state governments of Australia own many more venues than Live Nation.
Ticket Prices
Ticketmaster does not set prices, nor do we have or offer algorithmic surge pricing technologies.
Ticketing companies do not control how artist teams and other event organisers price their shows or whether they adjust prices up or down based on demand. However, like other ticketing companies, we have tools to help artist teams understand demand for their tickets.
It is the artist teams who decide which tools to use and how to best balance revenue goals with fan access. Artists are increasingly reliant on live music for their livelihood and to support their crew and rising production costs. It’s costly for most international artists to add Australia/New Zealand to their tour, and those costs have dramatically increased after Covid.
Ticket prices need to compensate touring artists and ensure that Australia continues to attract many of the world’s most popular artists.
Ticketmaster complies fully with Australian Consumer Law by incorporating per ticket or percentage fees into the price of the ticket paid by fans, and prominently disclosing any optional or transaction level fees.
According to data from Live Performance Australia, the peak body representing the major promoters, venues and ticketing companies, average ticket prices for contemporary music have only grown by 2.7% CAGR from 2004 to 2023.
There will always be variability year to year in average prices depending on a range of factors including international touring schedules and exchange rates. For example, the comparison between 2022 and 2023 average prices reflects a post-pandemic return to global touring and a shift towards bigger stadium level concerts by some major international artists.
Industry-Wide Fee Structure
Venues set ticketing fees with their selected ticketing agent.
These fees are how the ticketing company is paid for its services (including tech development and innovation, customer service, access control, and compliance, all of which require significant investment), and some fees are paid to venues to help venues cover the costs of operating the facility and hosting shows, including expenses for staffing, security, venue improvements and more.
As Live Performance Australia outlined in its release on 15 October 2024:
What ‘Four Corners’ conspiratorially labelled ‘secret’ or ‘hidden’ fees (the ‘inside charge’) are actually an established practice under Australia’s consumer law which requires an ‘all-in’ pricing approach where all of the elements related to different costs built into the ticket are included in the single price.
This is separate to ‘outside fees’, which are usually ticket delivery or transaction level fees that sit outside the ticket price.
Live Nation’s venues and ticketing practices are consistent and competitive with the rest of the industry and all other operators.
How the Industry Works
It’s important to recognise the different parties working hard behind the scenes to organise and execute a tour.
The role of the promoter is to offer artists a show or tour. Promoters work closely with the artist or artist representatives to coordinate the tour routing, as well as managing the production and logistics per the artist’s request. They are focused on attracting a wide audience for the tour, ensuring the right venue is selected for the artist and their audience size at that time in their career, and they take on the financial risk of the show or tour from the artist.
The role of the booking agent is to obtain the deal on behalf of the artist, broker any contracts, and act as a liaison between the artist/artist representative and promoter.
A manager represents the artist in all dealings and acts as the artist’s voice to promoters and agents. They are paid in commission from the artist’s earnings.
Venue and tour related costs are paid from the ticketing income including costs such as venue (hire), support artist fees, production costs, insurance, promoter and agent fees, travel and marketing.
Given that ticketing agents are appointed by venues, it’s important to note that all of Live Nation’s arena shows are ticketed by Ticketek. This is because those venues across states including NSW, VIC, QLD, WA and SA have exclusive ticketing contracts with Ticketek.
In relation to Bad//Dreems
For this tour, Live Nation was not the promoter. The tour was promoted by a non-Live Nation affiliated company called Love Police.
For this tour, Bad//Dreems played two Live Nation-owned venues, The Triffid (incurring no merch fees) and Hindley Street Music Hall which was agreed by Bad//Dreems and the promoter. The remainder of the venues were non-Live Nation owned – Corner Hotel and Factory Theatre.
Music Festivals
Festivals play a crucial role in driving regional economic benefits, providing cultural value, while also supporting emerging acts with exposure to much larger audiences than would otherwise be possible for them.
Our team is actively developing projects and reviewing our strategy in the face of changing market conditions and and global trends to ensure our festivals continue to benefit artists and the industry.
While some festivals face challenges with rising costs, we’re confident those with strong locations, talent, and a unique identity will continue to thrive long term in a competitive live entertainment market.
It’s important to note that Live Nation operates a small number of festivals across Australia. According to a recent government study: “535 music festivals were presented across Australia in the 2022–23 financial year, with Victoria and New South Wales presenting the highest number of festivals – 149 each. That is almost 1.5 music festivals for every day of the year.” The full report can be found here: Soundcheck: Australian music festivals – Creative Australia
Additional Claims
- There was a claim regarding Live Nation’s stake in TSP Merchandising. This business has been inactive since 2022.
- There is a claim around ownership of Live Nation by Saudi Arabia’s public investment fund. Live Nation is a publicly listed company on the New York Stock Exchange. Stock purchased by the Saudi Government was done so on the open market – Live Nation did not receive any investment. Whoever the government bought the shares from received the money and we have no control over who buys or sells Live Nation Entertainment stock.
- Oasis in the UK and Ireland was promoted by multiple promoters. The most visible was SJM in UK (LN co-promoted), DF in Scotland and MCD in Ireland. The tour also used three different ticketing agents – Ticketmaster UK, Gigs and Tours and See Tickets.
- Live Nation vigorously defends against the baseless DOJ allegations and has published detailed information in connection with the suit. Additionally, the market structure in Australia differs significantly from that in the US, and we do not believe there are any grounds for a similar claim in Australia.
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Nathan Jolly is the Features Editor at Mumbrella. He joined the team in July, 2023.
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What an awful, unethical company Live Nation is. Contacted them recently re an issue and they were so incredibly arrogant it was unbelievable. Not surprised to see the Four Corners story.
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I’m more likely to believe in the Tooth Fairy than anything the ABC airs
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Are the good guys doing their thing for years
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Pearl Jam have always been supportive of having local supports on their tours since 1995 when they were joined by the Meanies and Cosmic Psychos. Doesn’t look they need to pushed by their promoters.
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