WASHINGTON D.C. (CelebrityAccess) — A Senate panel is moving forward with an investigation of Live Nation over pricing practices and the dominance of its Ticketmaster subsidiary over the live events industry.
On Monday, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat and the chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, revealed that the committee had subpoenaed Live Nation seeking documents that the committee says the promoter giant has failed to provide.
“Despite nearly eight months and extensive efforts to obtain voluntary compliance, Live Nation/Ticketmaster has failed to fully comply with PSI’s requests, including refusing to produce certain documents critical to the Subcommittee’s inquiry. Furthermore, the Subcommittee has identified additional categories of documents necessary to complete its inquiry. As a result, the enclosed subpoena also seeks records related to Live Nation/Ticketmaster’s failure to combat artificially inflated demand fueled by bots in multiple, high-profile incidents, which resulted in consumers being charged exorbitant ticket price,” Blumenthal wrote in a letter to Live Nation President & CEO Michael Rapino.
The subcommittee first requested the documents in question from Live Nation in March, seeking information on a range of subjects, such as Live Nation/Ticketmaster’s business practices, including the prices and fees for tickets to live events sold by the company.
The letter was also signed by Senator Ron Johnson, the ranking Republican member of the committee.
The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations launched the investigation of Live Nation and Ticketmaster in the wake of a series of high-profile ticketing incidents in the wake of multiple ticket scandals by artists such as Taylor Swift and Bruce Springsteen.
The Senate Judiciary Committee, a separate panel, conducted its own hearings into Live Nation’s influence in the live events industry earlier this year.
A rep for Live Nation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.