I'm touring my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me THURSDAY (May 2) in WINNIPEG, then Calgary (May 3), Vancouver (May 4), Tartu, Estonia, and beyond!
Anything that can't go on forever eventually stops. Monopolies are intrinsically destabilizing and inevitably implode…eventually. Guessing which of the loathesome monopolies that make us all miserable will be the first domino is a hard call, but Ticketmaster is definitely high on my list.
It's not that event tickets are the most consequential aspect of our lives. The monopolies over pharma, fuel, finance, tech, and even beer are all more important to our day-to-day. But while Ticketmaster – and its many ramified tentacles, like Live Nation – may not be the most destructive monopoly in our world, but it pisses off people with giant megaphones and armies of rabid fans.
It's been a minute since Ticketmaster was last in the news, so let's recap. Ticketmaster bought out most of its ticketing rivals, then merged with Live Nation, the country's largest concert promoter, and bought out many of the country's largest music, stage and sports venues. They used this iron grip on the entire supply chain for performances and events to pile innumerable junk fees on every ticket sold, while drastically eroding the wages of the creative workers they nominally represented. They created a secret secondary market for tickets and worked with ticket-touts to help them run bots that bought every ticket within an instant of the opening of ticket sales, then ran an auction marketplace that made them gigantic fees on every re-sold ticket – fees the performers were not entitled to share in.
The Ticketmaster/Live Nation/venue octopus is nearly impossible to escape. Independent venues can't book Live Nation acts unless they use Ticketmaster for their tickets. Acts can't get into the large venues owned by Ticketmaster unless they sign up to have Live Nation book their tour. And when Ticketmaster buys a venue, it creams off the most successful acts, starving competing venues of blockbuster shows. They also illegally colluded with their vendors to jack up the price of concerts across the board:
https://pascrell.house.gov/uploadedfiles/ful.pdf
When Rebecca Giblin and I were writing Chokepoint Capitalism, our book about how tech and entertainment monopolies impoverish all kinds of creative workers, we were able to get insiders to go on record about every kind of monopoly, from the labels to Spotify, Kindle to the Big Five publishers and the Google-Meta ad-tech duopoly. The only exception was Ticketmaster/Live Nation: everyone involved in live performance – performers, bookers, club owners – was palpably terrified about speaking out on the record about the conglomerate:
https://chokepointcapitalism.com/
No wonder. The company has a long and notorious history of using its market power to ruin anyone who challenges it. Remember Pearl Jam?
But anything that can't go on forever eventually stops. Not only is Ticketmaster a rapacious, vindictive monopolist – it's also an incompetent monopolist, whose IT systems are optimized for rent-extraction first, with ticket sales as a distant afterthought. This is bad no matter which artist it effects, but when Ticketmaster totally, utterly fucked up Taylor Swift's first post-lockdown tour, they incurred the wrath of the Swifties:
All of which explains why I've always given good odds that Ticketmaster would be first up against the wall come the antitrust revolution. It may not be the most destructive monopolist, but it is absurdly evil, and the people who hate it most are the most famous and beloved artists in the country.
For a while, it looked like I was right. Ticketmaster's colossal Taylor Swift fuckup prompted Senator Amy Klobuchar – a leading antitrust crusader – to hold hearings on the company's conduct, and led to the introduction of a raft of bills to rein in predatory ticketing practices. But as David Dayen writes for The American Prospect, Ticketmaster/Live Nation is spreading a fortune around on the Hill, hiring a deep bench of ex-Congressmen and ex-senior staffers (including Klobuchar's former chief of staff) and they've found a way to create the appearance of justice without having to suffer any consequences for their decades-long campaign of fraud and abuse:
Dayen opens his article with the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, which is always bracketed by a week's worth of lavish parties for Congress and hill staffers. One of the fanciest of these parties was thrown by Axios – and sponsored by Live Nation, with a performance by Jelly Roll (whose touring contract is owned by Live Nation). Attendees at the Axios/Live Nation event were bombarded with messages about the essential goodness of Live Nation (they were even printed on the cocktail napkins) and exhortations to support the Fans First Act, co-sponsored by Klobuchar and Sen John Cornyn (R-TX):
Ticketmaster/Live Nation loves the Fans First Act, because – unlike other bills – it focuses primarily on the secondary market for tickets, and its main measure is a requirement for ticketing companies to disclose their junk fees upfront. Neither of these represents a major challenge to Ticketmaster/Live Nation's control over the market, which gives it the ability to slash performers' wages while jacking up prices for fans.
Fans First represents the triumph of Ticketmaster/Live Nation's media strategy, which is to blame the entire problem on bottom-feeding ticket-touts (who are mostly scum!) instead of on the single monopoly that controls the entire industry and can't stop committing financial crimes.
Axios isn't Live Nation's only partner in selling this distraction tactic. Over the past five years, the company has flushed gigantic sums of money through Washington. Its lobbying spend rose from $240k in 2018 to $1.1m in 2022, and $2.38m in 2023:
The company has 37 paid lobbyists selling Congress on its behalf. 25 of them are former congressional staffers. Two are former Congressmen: Ed Whitfield (R-KY), a 21 year veteran of the House, and Mark Pryor (D-AR), a two-term senator:
But perhaps the most galling celebrant in this lavish hymn to Citizen United is Jonathan Becker, Amy Klobuchar's former chief of staff, who jumped ship to lobby Congress on behalf of monopolists like Live Nation, who paid him $120k last year to sell their story to the Hill:
Not everyone hates Fans First: it's been endorsed by the Nix the Tix coalition, largely on the strength of its regulation of secondary ticket sales. But the largest secondary seller in America by far is Live Nation itself, with a $4.5b market in reselling the tickets it sold in the first place. Fans First shifts focus from this sleazy self-dealing to competitors like Stubhub.
Fans First can be seen as an opening salvo in the long war against Ticketmaster/Live Nation. But compared to more muscular bills – like Klobuchar's stalled-out Unlock Ticketing Markets Act, it's pretty weaksauce. The Unlocking act will "prevent exclusive contracts between ticketing services and venues" – hitting Ticketmaster/Live Nation where it hurts, right in the bank-account:
It's not all gloom. Dayen reports that Ticketmaster's active lobbying in favor of Fans First has made many in Congress more skeptical of the bill, not less. And Congress isn't the only – or even the best – way to smash Ticketmaster's criminal empire. That's something the DoJ's antitrust division could power through with a lot less exposure to the legalized bribery that dominates Congress.
If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:
Kneecap are a three-piece hip-hop group hailing from Belfast, Co. Antrim. Their music is brash, infectious and politically charged, often combining both Irish and English lyrics in single verses. Their lyrics are controversial, cynical and at times even satirical, and with beats remixing the BBC News theme, KNEECAPs appeal is easily transferable from that other controversial Irish rap group
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1J_DVutL-w
2. ROE
Roe is a twenty-year old multi-instrumentalist from Co. Derry, and an absolute powerhouse of talent packed into a tiny frame. Her lyrics are consistently poignant, and her synth-led indie music manages to be effortlessly catchy, without ever losing the meaning behind it, or verging into the cliché. Her songs can transport you into that scene from that coming-of-age film, right from the comfort of your own back garden. A homegrown talent with the perfect sound for the long summer ahead.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3nY8MrP0OA
3. HOZIER
If you haven’t been listening to Andrew Hozier-Byrne for the last seven years, then what exactly have you been doing? Hailing from Bray, Co. Wicklow, the gentle giant has become synonymous with the Irish music scene from his very first EP. His songs are blues-inspired, guitar-led and lyrically often politically charged – tackling everything from racism in the police to homophobia in the church. A colossal musical talent, with unmatched lyrics and features across his two albums – undoubtedly worth the stan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cI0wUoCLnLk
4. ORLA GARTLAND
You simply cannot separate Dublin alt-pop sensation Orla Gartland’s distinctive and unique personality from her distinctive and unique brand of music. An undeniable talent paired with infectious guitar riffs and lyrics that are relatable and accessible to the youth of Ireland and farther afield in the modern era, Orla’s music is breath-taking and brutally honest – well worth the listen and well-deserving of the stan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_pICv1FxnY
5. TOUTS
This section got me into twitter cringe with Luke Mac from Touts so yous all best listen to them now. Touts are a three-piece band hailing from the greatest city on the island, Derry, TOUTS have managed to make punk music for the modern era that Eabha Lynn can listen to, unironically. Their lyrics detail the frustrations of what it’s like to be young in the North of Ireland, with song titles like ‘political people,’ and ‘bombscare,’ highlighting that in as blatant a way as possible. They’re really good, their songs are often short bursts of pure energy, that you simply cannot help but to keep listening to.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQmdoIhnizc
6. BRAND NEW FRIEND
Brand New Friend are a local band to me, their North (Antrim?) Coast heritage evident in the distinctive lyrical themes splattered across their discography. Initially with four members, though more recently with five, Brand New Friend are the epitome of indie-pop perfection in Ireland at the moment. Their music is danceable, their lyrics are relatable, and their growth as a band evident throughout their work’s history. The dynamic between the band – made up of three siblings, a best friend and a boyfriend – is electric, you can’t stop listening, and truly have no choice but to stan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phsS_QA8rPw
7. GENERAL FIASCO
I often say music would be better if every band was from Bellaghy, and General Fiasco generally -is- my reasoning with that one. The breakthrough band of the early 2010s brought rural south Co. Derry to the international stage, with their infectious indie melodies and accessible lyrics, as relevant to teenage life a decade ago as it is now. A three-piece, fronted by siblings Owen and Enda Strathearn, who had been performing right up until the beginning of this lockdown, despite their last album release occurring almost eight years previously, the band are well worth a listen, and undeniably indie icons of the island.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As-Rulo-E4g
8. INHALER
I feel more strongly about Eli Hewson’s lil hoop earring than I do about most people but ANYWAY, Inhaler are a band of south-Dublin posh boys fronted by Bono’s son (Spawno?) Elijah. They are the sound of Ireland in 2020, and despite having a name inspired by their frontman’s respiratory condition, they are characterised by his soaring vocals layered over a devastatingly unique synth-pop meets guitar-rock melody. I hate to love them, but I simply cannot help but to. They are objectively very good at what they do, they are forward looking and exciting to listen to, definitely worth the stan.
Okay and they are four very beautiful rich boys with guitars that doesn’t hurt either.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUwpt3pM4sY
9. TEBI REX
Admittedly I only recently started listening to these guys, but the Maynooth-based rap duo have a sound unlike anything else I have heard from this Island in living-memory. Their sound is exciting, their lyrics are original and accessible. The two men making up Tebi Rex, Matt O’Baoill and Max Zanga, are both exceptionally good at what they do, and their respective styles compliment each other perfectly. Men Are Trash honestly speaks to me, they are truly stan worthy, ones to watch and ones that are so forward looking and genuinely so exciting to listen to.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lWEuEKD6DE
10. SOAK
If you can’t tell by now that I really love Derry, here is another prodigal talent from Ireland’s should-have-been capital city. Her music is intense, you can tell from first listen how much of herself she puts into her songs. Her sound is messy, chaotic, and yet beautiful and well crafted. She has an unmistakable voice, layered over a beautiful and raw melodic soundscape, utilising everything from synth to orchestral strings throughout her projects. Her songs are sad without being cringey, she simply is emotive and honest – beyond her years even, and this is well evidenced throughout her music.
I have no choice but to stan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxyD9fH1bQk
11. THE ACADEMIC
In Ireland, you get a generation defining indie-pop/indie-rock band to the calibre of the academic about once in a decade, if you’re lucky. For the last five years, this four-piece from Mullingar, Co. Westmeath, have been supplying us with tune after tune, LP after EP, each managing to perfectly capture that coming-of-age long summer road-trip sound every band tries at some stage to achieve. They’re able to tell stories, to convey feelings of love and apathy, and even of our more recent isolation, in a way that is so rarely found in their genre. Above all, they are exceptionally talented musicians who are genuinely enjoyable to listen to, and they deserve the stan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXoBj5HZ1hU
12. FONTAINES D.C.
Post-punk five-piece Fontaines D.C formed when at College in Dublin in 2017, though hail from all across the Island, with the frontman Grian Chatten even being born in Barrow in the North West of England. Despite their debut only being released a year ago, they have already become synonymous with the Dublin music scene, and the post-punk scene across Ireland at large. The lead single of their sophomore album was released in Early May, to broad and wide-ranging acclaim. Their sound is infectious, addictive, yet distinctive. Despite their limited discography, you can’t help but get yourself excited for more. Chatten’s voice is incredible and distinctive, their sound is remarkable, their appeal is broad and diverse. They’re ones to watch, and well worth a stan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLNt8aMNbvY
13. CHERYM,
My personal favourite band from my favourite city, Cherym really are a band by the girls and the gays for the girls and the gays. They are three ‘sassy’ Derry girls with so much craic it radiates through their songwriting, resulting in their characteristic fusion of pop-punk and garage-rock, perfectly contrasted with catchy, danceable lyrics covering everything from shitty exes to good friends. Individually, the girls are three remarkable talents, and these blend so well together to produce the top quality punk music the people of Ireland so desperately need and deserve. You should definitely stan, they’re pretty class
Muito feliz (e um pouco constrangido) em ser o "Artista da vez" da Touts. Na entrevista falo um pouco sobre os processos e inspirações por trás da Koning.
Leia a entrevista completa aqui
