Numerous superstars, from Carlos Santana to Nelly to James Taylor, have tickets on sale right now for big 2025 tours coming through Phoenix. Fans may also be buying tickets for Christmas gifts next week.
But buying tickets hasn’t been easy for some fans of late.
When Billie Eilish brought her tour through the West Valley on Dec. 13 at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, a number of fans were turned away at the gate even though they had tickets for the show. Reportedly, they were fans who didn’t buy through Live Nation-Ticketmaster but rather allegedly used third-party apps.
“We worked with customers to ensure they had everything they needed to enter the venue last Friday, and were on standby to support,” a StubHub spokesperson shared with Independent. “Despite the publicized restrictions with this tour, thousands of fans successfully entered with tickets from StubHub without issue.”
If fans are confused, that’s part of the reason why 30 states, including Arizona, and the U.S. Department of Justice this past May filed suit in District Court in a 167-page complaint that alleges Live Nation and its wholly owned subsidiary Ticketmaster have an unlawful monopoly on the ticket-buying industry. The suit was amended in August.
The complainants are seeking a jury trial.
“Live Nation’s and Ticketmaster’s conduct allows them to exploit their conflicts of interest — as a promoter, ticketer, venue owner, and artist manager — across the live music industry,” the complaint alleges.
Live Nation brings in more than $22 billion in annual revenue, according to the lawsuit, which was filed in New York’s Southern District. The DOJ further states Live Nation directly manages more than 400 musical artists and, in total, controls around 60% of concert promotions at major concert venues across the country.
Live Nation refutes the complaint’s allegations. In a statement, Executive Vice President Dan Wall wrote it’s “absurd” to claim a Live Nation and Ticketmaster monopoly.
“The defining feature of a monopolist is monopoly profits derived from monopoly pricing,” Wall wrote [italics are Wall’s]. “Live Nation in no way fits the profile. Service charges on Ticketmaster are no higher than on SeatGeek, AXS, or other primary ticketing sites.”
In turn, StubHub refutes Live Nation’s claims.
“Consumers should not be forced to buy tickets from Ticketmaster, download their app to access an event, or be subject to anticompetitive threats about canceling valid tickets,” the company spokesperson shared in a statement. “This is the type of behavior the Department of Justice is investigating in its complaint against Live Nation-Ticketmaster.”
Ticketmaster did not respond to additional requests for comment.
A spokesperson for Talking Stick Resort Amphitheater in Phoenix, referred questions about ticket purchasing viability to a 2023 Ticketmaster-penned statement entitled, “How to Protect Yourself Against Ticketing Scams.”
“Fans deserve access to legit tickets — ones that will get them into the event,” the statement reads. “No one should ever be turned away at the venue due to fake or counterfeit tickets, but unfortunately, it happens.”
The tips encouraged fans to “buy tickets from official sources” and added, “Ticketmaster is the safest and most secure marketplace to buy tickets.”
The StubHub representative advised fans to never buy tickets off social media and to never pay cash for tickets.
“There is no incentive for someone to sell an invalid ticket on StubHub and fraud is virtually non-existent on our platform with less than 0.2% of buyers having an issue at the door,” the spokesperson stated. “With that said, if a buyer is having issues with a ticket they purchased on StubHub they should contact our customer service team immediately.”
Some artists sell tickets directly through their websites. However, some also sell tickets through third-party vendors like Ticketmaster, which has exclusive deals with many venues.
The federal antitrust suit against Live Nation will likely be a long court process throughout 2025 with little ticket price relief — or clarity — in sight for fans in the meantime.
As the massive legal dispute continues, even Wall, of Live Nation, concedes that the current ticket buying process offers little to music fans.
“Is the ticketing marketplace confusing to consumers?,” Wall wrote. “Yes, it certainly is.”
Steve Stockmar
News Editor | Sun Life Magazine & Arts & Entertainment
YourValley.net
sstockmar@iniusa.org
Meet Steve
Steve Stockmar joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2017, and has been an Arizona journalist for almost 30 years. He serves as editor of Sun Life Magazine and contributes to West Valley communities where he focuses mostly on arts & culture, education, and profiles of neighbors making a difference.
Community: Every season Steve serves as a “buddy” with the Miracle League of Arizona in Scottsdale, has volunteered his time with Family Promise in Glendale, and previously served on the Ghostlight Theatre board in Sun City West.
Education: Graduated from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff with a Journalism major and English minor.
Random Fact: Steve once won a 50-player live Texas Hold ’Em poker tournament.
Hobbies: Anguishing over his beloved Chicago Cubs and Bears; listening to Beatles and Grateful Dead music.
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