Hayley Williams and Jack Antonoff discuss corporations “monopolising” concert industry

MusicNews
By:
On:
Hayley Williams and Jack Antonoff discuss corporations “monopolising” concert industry

Jack Antonoff has taken aim at the large corporations trying to “monopolise” live music.

  • Read More: Hayley Williams’ surprise 17-song release is a bold choose-your-own-adventure through hope and heartache

As part of Rolling Stone’s musicians-on-musicians series, the pop producer sat down with Hayley Williams to discuss their respective careers, with the conversation drifting towards changes in live music the Bleachers frontman had seen “from every level” in recent years.

Advertisement

“What fucks me off is, why is drawing a few hundred people not an honest living?” he asked the Paramore frontwoman, who’s also been vocal about the mounting costs of live music.

“You and your band can’t turn a profit, and then we have to watch the companies that own all these rooms and monopolise the whole fucking thing and post billions of earnings,” Antonoff fumed.

“Chill the fuck out, it’s working. Everyone wants to come. It’s not total anarchy.”

Williams pointed to major ticketing companies leeching off the live music scene and how, in turn, this has led to financial issues for smaller venues. “[It’s] killing me,” she told Antonoff. “My favourite street in Nashville has been just obliterated.”

Recommended

“It’s so simple to me,” Antonoff replied, proposing that the only answer, which he said would “never” happen, was that the big corporations settle for taking less money.

“I want everyone in that room [at a music venue] to feel like a fucking human being from beginning to end. I want it to be the best night ever. The last thing I want people to think about is how they’re treated. I remember growing up – a bad security guard? They’d be gone. It would never happen. There was such protection over the literal vibe.”

Antonoff has been a vocal critic of the rising ticket costs facing fans, and at the 2023 Grammys, asked why he could “go online and buy a car” for a set price, but wouldn’t be able to buy a ticket at the price an artist wants it to be. “And you know the reason why,” he added. “And it’s not ’cause of artists.”

Advertisement

Dynamic pricing has been a frequent feature of headlines following the Oasis reunion tour, which saw thousands of fans scramble for obscenely priced tickets, with many priced out due to the suspected use of dynamic pricing.

The ensuing controversy saw Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy call for a review into the practice, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer call the price hikes “depressing”. The European Commission later confirmed that it would also be investigating the issue. 

Following a government investigation into dynamic pricing, Ticketmaster made a series of changes recently, including advanced warnings if a tiered pricing system is being used, and better communication about how much tickets will be priced at.

As for ticket prices in the US, it was recently confirmed that US regulators are suing Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation, over alleged “illegal” tactics when reselling tickets.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), along with seven states, alleged that the entertainment giant coordinated with brokers to purchase gig tickets and sell them at a “substantial” markup. This, they alleged, violated consumer protection law and led to the companies profiting from large resale fees.

Ticketmaster and Live Nation have not yet responded to the FTC’s allegations, but earlier this year, Andrew Parsons – the Managing Director at Ticketmaster UK – told MPs he believed that tickets were “very fairly priced”.

Last year, the US Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation over its alleged behaviour of illegally maintaining a monopoly in the live music industry. A judge has since rejected Live Nation’s bid to dismiss the antitrust allegations, which the company has called “absurd”.

Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.