Clyde Lawrence of the band Lawrence spoke before Congress about how Live Nation and Ticketmaster’s monopoly hurts artists. They control nearly every part of the live music industry- the venue, the ticketing, the promotion- and take a cut at every step. By the time an artist finishes a show, they’ve been hit with fees from every angle. Fans pay more, artists earn less, and independent venues are pushed out. Here in Portland, we’re facing the same threat. Live Nation wants to build a 3,300-cap venue downtown and today our City Council is voting on whether to pause that project. 📧 There’s still time to write: council@portlandmaine.gov + publiccomment@portlandmaine.gov 📍 And we hope to see you in person at City Hall at 5:30 PM Your voice matters. Let’s stop this monopoly together.

Most of the issues we face stem from the fact that Live Nation Ticketmaster often acts as three things at the same time, the promoter, the venue, and the ticketing company. Let's imagine we just played a sold-out show at a venue Live Nation owns and operates. When an artist plays these venues, they're required to use Live Nation as the promoter. Far from simply advertising, the promoter coordinates and pays the upfront costs to put together a concert, such as renting and staffing a venue, and striking a deal with the performer. Since both our pay and theirs is a share of the show's profits, we should be true partners, aligned in our incentives. Keep costs low while ensuring the best fan experience. But with Live Nation not only acting as the promoter, but also as the owner and or operator of the venue, it seriously complicates these incentives. In a world where the promoter and the venue are not affiliated with each other, we can trust that the promoter will look to get the best deal from the venue. However, in this case, the promoter and the venue are part of the same corporate entity. So these line items are essentially Live Nation negotiating to pay itself. At the end of the show, costs will have eaten into most of the money made that evening, and due to Live Nation's control across the industry, we have practically no leverage in negotiating them. If they wanna take 10% of the revenues and call it a facility fee, they can and have. If they wanna charge $30,000 for the house nut, they can and have. And if they wanna charge us $250 for a stack of 10 clean towels, they can and have. Once these costs, some of which went to Live Nation's subsidiaries, are taken into account, the remainder is split between Live Nation and the band.