18 comments

  • jaybrendansmith a day ago ago

    Rock is truly dead. Regulatory capture disguised as antitrust enforcement.

  • euroderf 2 days ago ago

    Follow the money.

  • igor47 2 days ago ago

    More grift from the Trump admin, a Trump ally is on Ticketmaster board and they fired the DoJ antitrust chief last month to make this deal happen. Ticketmaster paying 3 days of revenue as a fine and getting a slap on the wrist. The terms include them promising not to do any more illegal stuff that was already illegal and they just did anyway, such as retaliating against artists and venues that try to oppose them. Meanwhile we get to continue paying a 30% convenience fee for our tickets, the only reasonable remaining way to support artists in the Spotify era, plus we get to use their shitty app.

    • i2oc a day ago ago

      Yeah there is something fishy here. There is ample evidence of anti competitive behaviour. TM/LN are well known in the industry as being bullies. This should be a slam dunk case for someone who really wanted to chase it.

      The resale market at minimum should be separated, if not the ticketing from the touring side.

    • toraway 2 days ago ago

      Wait a year and Ted Cruz or another Republican Senator will make a big thing about standing up for the average Joe getting ripped off by Ticketmaster and promptly do nothing about it again.

      Right wing populism is so depressing to watch…

    • ta9000 a day ago ago

      The solution is to stop going to these shows. If enough people do it, eventually prices will adjust.

      • wussboy a day ago ago

        Any solution that requires a bunch of independent actors to go against their best interests will certainly fail. You need to find another option

        • ta9000 a day ago ago

          Then they should stop complaining that ticket prices are too high. If they were too high, they wouldn’t be going, I guess.

          • tencentshill a day ago ago

            They have determined, with mathematical precision, the exact maximum fans are willing to pay. Not legally a scam, but still unethical and should not be rewarded.

      • MrFots 14 hours ago ago

        Stop going to shows. Cancel consumption subscriptions. Quit eating and drinking garbage.

        Unfortunately, panis et circenses are what the masses want, and we're all the worse for it.

        You shouldn't have been downvoted.

    • csto12 2 days ago ago

      Is grift the right word to use here? Is all corruption grift?

      • dragonwriter a day ago ago

        All corruption (and other dishonest ways of making profit or advantage) is graft, to attempt sell something under false pretenses is to grift [0].

        Grifting is often among the techniques used to effectuate graft.

        IMO, the upthread post reads better with “graft” which is a abstract noun, matching the use upthread, where “grift” is usually a verb (I've also seen it used as a concrete now for a particular operation in which the agent is perceived to be grifting.)

        [0] Most dictionaries I think will still say this is specific to small-scale swindling, but I think that's a lagging indicator; IME, usage has drifted to be more generalized, with large scale operations often referred to as grifting.

        • IAmBroom a day ago ago

          Grift is slang. Graft has a long historical usage, and therefore a well-established definition.

  • suchoudh a day ago ago

    if anyone thinks this is not preplanned is fooling themselves.

    I have lost counts of Trump doing insider trading violations. This guy is dangerous not just for US but for entire world order. STOP him.

    • ta9000 a day ago ago

      What would you suggest we do?

      • sumedh a day ago ago

        Vote?

        Protests?

        • IAmBroom a day ago ago

          And maybe strongly worded letters to our congressmen? /s

          • DANmode a day ago ago

            Funny, but have you actually tried that?

            When enough people do, it’s easy to figure out who’s representing you, and who isn’t.