Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-09), for 15 years the leading critic in Congress against Ticketmaster, today shared an opinion editorial in the Star-Ledger echoing Pascrell’s demands to break-up the behemoth monopoly.

“One such lawmaker is Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ 9th Dist.), who protested the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster back in 2010, because he foresaw how it would ultimately make it impossible for other companies to compete in the live music space,” wrote the Star-Ledger Editorial Board. “It combined the largest promoter with the most prominent ticketing platform.”

The full text of the piece is below.

Scoring Bruce Springsteen tickets at a fair cost isn’t exactly on everyone’s list of public policy priorities, but when you are able to obtain ducats from only one source – and that source demands a price that will reduce your kids’ inheritance by half – you want someone to look into it.

So we applaud the U.S. Department of Justice’s decision last week to go after Live Nation Entertainment and its universally-despised subsidiary, Ticketmaster, with an antitrust lawsuit alleging that the promotions behemoth is a ruthless cartel that dominates live events across the nation.

It is also a timely reminder that the broader enemy is monopoly itself – whether it’s tech platforms, internet services, airlines, banks, etc. – and that we need lawmakers who are willing to play the long game to protect consumers against corporate greed.

One such lawmaker is Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ 9th Dist.), who protested the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster back in 2010, because he foresaw how it would ultimately make it impossible for other companies to compete in the live music space. It combined the largest promoter with the most prominent ticketing platform.

Two recent consequences: By 2023, Springsteen tickets had taken a 33% jump since his last tour, with some going for $5,000; and Taylor Swift – who is not managed by Live Nation – regularly expressed her outrage with the greedy promoter who makes her fans “feel like they went through several bear attacks” to obtain their tickets.

So at long last, concertgoers may get the consumer protection they deserve. Score one for Pascrell.

“This news (of the lawsuit) is a victory for the millions of American fans who have been taken advantage of, screwed, ripped off, and outright robbed by this corrupt and greedy entity,” the 14-term congressman said. “It is a new day for consumers in America. If ever a company has been a corporate embodiment of Darth Vader and Lord Voldemort coming together, it is Live Nation-Ticketmaster.”

Merrick Garland agreed: “It is time to break up Live Nation-Ticketmaster,” the US Attorney General said. “Live Nation and its wholly owned subsidiary, Ticketmaster, have used. . . .power and influence to insert themselves at the center and the edges of virtually every aspect of the live music ecosystem.”

This case could lead to a seismic change in the live event market, and it’s a long time coming. Despite Pascrell’s early warning that the merger would crush competition, the marriage that created Live Nation Entertainment led to its control of 250 concert venues across the continent and control of 60% of concert promotions across the U.S. The company also manages more than 400 musical acts.

But it wasn’t until 2022 when others inside the Beltway seemed to understand Pascrell’s alarm. That was the year Swift’s “Eras Tour” took off, resulting in a Ticketmaster site crash -- blocking millions of her fans from purchasing tickets. The debacle exposed how the lack of competition contributes to Ticketmaster’s lousy customer service, confusing pricing, obscene fees and extra charges, and its suspicious tolerance for ticket brokers.

Ticketmaster explained that the Eras glitch was the result of Swift’s popularity, but it never explained why it wasn’t better prepared to handle the crush, given that it knew the fans had only one place to go for tickets.

That’s the norm: Live Nation regularly pressures its acts to use Ticketmaster, and if customers are inconvenienced, it couldn’t care less because there is no competition. The only reason a company that failed so badly can stay in business is because it’s the only option.

That’s called a monopoly -- and this one happens to produce more than 50,000 musical events and sell 620 million tickets annually. There is no way to compete with that.

Yet Pascrell, as always, has been persistent: In 2022, he pressured the FTC and Justice Department antitrust unit to overhaul guidelines to overturn bad mergers, called on DOJ to formally investigate the company, and kept fighting for a Live Nation-Ticketmaster dissolution. In 2023, he sponsored the Boss and Swift Act, which enforces industry transparency and makes it easier for consumers to use the secondary ticket market.

So let the trial begin. “I won’t be surprised if Ticketmaster rolls out some of their popular clients to sing a sweet tune about a misunderstood company,” Pascrell said. “These artists make a nice living thanks in part to their anti-competitive partner. But long-suffering fans know the truth.”

The truth is the system is corrupt. It’s time to break the stranglehold, and put an end to America’s greatest gouger.