Biden's fight against monopolies is a fight for democracy
Antitrust enforcement matters.
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By Noah Berlatsky
In 2022, Penny Harrison spent nine hours online with Live Nation/Ticketmaster trying to get tickets for the Taylor Swift Eras tour for her three children. Harrison told the BBC she missed two doctor appointments as she sat in consumer hell, watching ticket prices spike to $10,000 while the website refused to let her make a purchase.
Two weeks ago, the Department of Justice signaled that it sees failures like this as the result of excessive monopoly power. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that the government was suing under antitrust law to break up Live Nation/Ticketmaster for the good of consumers.
Attorney General Merrick Garland pointed out that Ticketmaster, which is owned by Live Nation, has “exclusive agreements that cover more than 70 percent of concert ticket sales at major concert venues across the country.” This gives the company power to impose “ticketing fees, services fees, convenience fees” and more to jack up prices in nontransparent ways.
Other countries without Ticketmaster don’t see the same kinds of gouging. The suit also alleges that Ticketmaster uses illegal, aggressive tactics to prevent competition, including threatening and acquiring competitors.
Inevitably, Garland’s announcement of the Ticketmaster suit was met with some skepticism on social media. Garland has long been criticized for slow-walking prosecutions of Donald Trump and his cronies after the January 6 coup attempt. In comparison to defending democracy, where many feel Garland failed, aren’t concerns about Taylor Swift ticket sales frivolous?
There are certainly many reasons to criticize Garland. But antitrust enforcement is important. President Joe Biden’s administration, and the FTC under Lina Khan, has reversed decades of indifference to monopolization and concentration of corporate power. The result, as it turns out, is a stronger democracy.