Authored by Jon Decker via RealClearMarkets,
It’s easy to take for granted the convenience afforded to us now. During the recent snowstorm in Washington D.C., I recall wondering beforehand whether I should ‘stock up’ at a grocery store to ensure I had enough food, or purchase flashlights and batteries in the event of a power outage. All of this thinking would prove antiquated the very next day, when, despite ten inches of snow, nothing prevented me from ordering flashlights, batteries, or any cuisine imaginable delivered directly to me via Uber. While just decades ago, the only delivery options on a good day might have been pizza or Chinese food from two or three local establishments, in a 2025 snowstorm, I could order anything.
What’s worth emphasizing is that such conveniences in our lives — whether they be smartphones, streaming platforms, GPS navigation, prime delivery, online banking, and free messaging services — are made available to us by “Big” businesses. These are the very businesses that politicians of both stripes now routinely attack. This brings us to another company whose life-enhancing services have been overlooked: Live Nation.
The entertainment company Live Nation is now being sued by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), along with numerous state attorneys general, for allegedly being “too big” and having a monopoly on live music. These allegations stem from Live Nation’s acquisition of the ticket brokering service Ticketmaster in a merger approved by the Obama administration in 2010. However, the DOJ now claims that Live Nation has too much power in both setting the price of admission — which, contrary to popular belief, is predominantly dictated by the artists themselves, although still subject to market forces of supply and demand, just like any commodity — and having ownership or partnerships with venues where the artists they manage perform.
What is so blindingly missed here by the DOJ is the streamlined effect this has on the concert-going experience for hundreds of millions of people each year. Like Walmart, one can think of Live Nation as a “one-stop shop” where immense convenience is afforded to us in having professional management of our “fan” experience from top to bottom. If there is any doubt that any of this is easy in terms of coordinating between artists, venues, and ticket sales, please revisit the “Fyre Festival” fiasco, where amateurs failed to deliver on all of those stages of production.
From sound to stage to artists, Live Nation produces some of the best concerts on the planet. They can do so precisely because they are a “Big” business. As music fans, we benefit from Live Nation having managed all stages of a performance and feel assured when buying a Live Nation ticket that we are buying a quality product, unlike those purchased by Fyre Festival attendees. If there were any question that their shows were that good, we wouldn’t be buying these tickets in the first place.
What’s even more troubling about the DOJ’s attack on the entertainment industry is how they went about it. Numerous leaks led up to the DOJ lawsuit, and additional questions have been raised about whether progressive outside groups (which had pushed for the breakup of Live Nation long before the Biden administration took action) had any influence. In any event, it appears the DOJ gave little consideration to any lesser, more targeted remedy before demanding the company’s outright breakup.
With his business acumen, President Trump surely recognizes how large corporations provide numerous conveniences to the public. In the context of music, this could be applied to Live Nation, a company that has revolutionized the way we experience live events. For these reasons, Trump should do everything he can to ensure that music lovers continue to have access to their wide range of live events and concerts.
For us fans, the show must go on.
Jon Decker is a senior fellow at the Parkview Institute.
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