One Company Dominates NZ’s Live Music Scene – How Do We Encourage Competition?

Why It Matters

The dominance of Live Nation/Ticketmaster drives higher ticket prices and limits market entry for local promoters, harming consumers and the broader music industry. Restoring competition could lower costs and diversify the live‑event landscape in New Zealand.

Key Takeaways

• Live Nation controls major NZ venues, festivals, and ticketing platforms
• US jury found Live Nation and Ticketmaster liable for antitrust violations
• Consumer NZ petitions for mandatory disclosure of all ticket fees
• Councils could require at least two ticketing providers to foster competition

Pulse Analysis

The U.S. antitrust verdict against Live Nation and Ticketmaster has sent shockwaves through the global live‑music market, and New Zealand is feeling the tremor. While the merger that created Live Nation Entertainment in 2009 gave the company a vertically integrated model—spanning artist management, venue ownership and ticketing—its grip on the Kiwi market is now under a microscope. Ownership of Spark Arena, the Electric Avenue festival and contracts with most of the country’s thousand‑plus capacity venues means any rival would need comparable scale to compete, effectively cementing a monopoly.

For New Zealand consumers, the monopoly translates into opaque pricing and inflated ticket costs. A Consumer NZ petition with 10,000 signatures calls for the Fair Trading Act to require clear disclosure of service, booking and credit‑card fees, mirroring Australian regulations that already ban hidden “outside” charges. Yet the industry’s shift to “inside” fees—bundling costs into the face value of tickets—has limited the impact of those rules. Transparency advocates such as Fix The Tix argue that full itemisation and caps on resale prices would curb the price‑gouging tactics that have sparked lawsuits and fan backlash worldwide.

Policymakers now face a choice: empower the Commerce Commission to enforce competition standards, or let local councils mandate at least two ticketing providers for publicly owned venues. Either route could open the market to new entrants, forcing ticketing firms to compete on price, service and innovation. In a market where a single player currently controls the supply chain, competition would likely lower ticket prices, improve consumer trust and revitalize New Zealand’s vibrant live‑music scene.