The entrance to AIF member festival 2000trees, the 2025 edition of which is set to kick off tomorrow, July 9th. Photo Credit: Sotakeit
The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) is calling on the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to investigate Live Nation, which allegedly controls over 66% of arena, stadium, and outdoor concerts in the U.K.
That’s according to an analysis from London-based AIF itself, which formally pushed for a CMA investigation today. Said push arrives against the backdrop of well-documented festival-sector woes throughout Europe; Live Nation and Ticketmaster are still grappling with a torrent of government scrutiny as well.
Across the pond – the promoter is also facing several regulatory obstacles in the States – this latest wave of scrutiny was set in motion by Oasis’ comeback-tour ticketing fiasco. As we reported last week, the fallout includes possible CMA litigation and ongoing debate about a resale-pass price cap.
Less widely discussed is the variable-pricing inquiry launched by the House of Commons’ Business and Trade Committee in January.
“The Business and Trade Committee is making a quick call for evidence on variable pricing – practices like the ‘dynamic’ pricing that recently came to major public attention when fans queued online for hours to secure Oasis concert tickets, only to find the price had rocketed out of reach while they waited,” the entity spelled out at the top of 2025.
In connection with the investigation, Ticketmaster U.K. MD Andrew Parsons and Live Nation touring executive president Phil Bowdery appeared before the Committee in late June. At least per the appropriate transcript, the hearing produced quite a bit of back and forth and multiple references to the Justice Department suit, but not any grand revelations.
When responding to questions concerning Live Nation’s U.K. market share as well as the initially mentioned 66% control, however, Bowdery took issue with the stat’s scope.
Specifically, the AIF pointed to 23.14 million “arena, stadium and outdoor concert tickets on sale in 2025,” of which “Live Nation and affiliate companies” allegedly controlled 15.36 million, or about 66.4%.
“You are not counting the theatres and other smaller venues to get a broader brush,” Bowdery replied during the hearing. “We certainly are very good at what we do. We have clients who are doing stadiums and arenas, but we also do a lot of theatres and clubs.”
Back to the fresh demand for a CMA investigation, AIF CEO John Rostron emphasized the stance “that Live Nation could be held responsible for engaging in anti-competitive behaviour.”
“Based on our analysis, we believe that there is evidence to suggest that Live Nation could be held responsible for engaging in anti-competitive behaviour and we therefore recommend that the Competition and Markets Authority investigate matters,” said Rostron, whose organization counts as members nearly 150 U.K. festivals.
“While we encourage and support organisations and individuals putting on the biggest shows, we wish for the market to be fair where all participants – whether major companies or independents – have opportunities at all levels. That’s why we took this action,” concluded the Welsh Music Prize co-founder.
Live Concert Industry
This post was originally authored and published by Dylan Smith Digital Music News via RSS Feed. Join today to get your news feed on Nationwide Report®.
