What the numbers say: Ticketmaster has seen an exponential rise in revenue over the past two years. While many entertainment companies have also seen rises in revenue in the post-COVID era, Ticketmaster has done particularly well, banking $16.7B in annual revenue in 2022. The entertainment ticketing service saw a 166.11% growth from 2021 to 2022 and a 236.8% growth from 2021 to 2020. Relevance: Ticketmaster and SeatGeek have come under fire for not showing the total price of fees during the transaction process of buying tickets on their platforms. The Biden administration has set out to eliminate "junk fees" that Live Nation, the company that owns Ticketmaster and SeatGeek, has slapped onto the end of transactions. The company, in working with the Biden administration, announced a commitment to making pricing more transparent throughout the process. "Junk fees" are being targeted, as they are tacked on to goods like concerts, sporting events, hotel stays, and airline tickets. Other data: Few changes have been made by companies, especially on concert tickets, until now, as it was previously a state-mandated issue, as many of the fees go to venue rentals. This became a larger issue this year with the botched ticket sales of the Taylor Swift Eras tour that led to Live Nation's president being called to testify in front of a Senate Judiciary Committee. |
