Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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And good morning. This is the Daily Oz. This is the Daily Oz. This is the Daily Oz. Oh, now it makes sense.
Good morning and welcome to the Daily Oz. It's Monday the 20th of April. I'm Elliot Laurie.
I'm Billie Fitzsimons.
I'm The landmark verdict against Live Nation and Ticketmaster is the latest in a case that could have implications for music fans around the world. On today's podcast, we're going to go through everything you need to know about the trial, including what the jury actually found, what happens next, and what it means for Australian concertgoers.
But first, here's a message from TDA's head of operations, Mia.
Hey, my name's Mia. I'm TDA's first head of operations. I joined the company last November with a key part of my role being to accelerate TDA's growth and cement our position as a mainstay of the Australian media landscape.
Before joining, I spent years in traditional newsrooms, but I decided to make the switch to new media because I love the two-way relationship we have with you, with our audience. We care deeply about what you think. Your feedback shapes what stories we cover and every single story is written with genuine care and consideration.
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Chapter 2: What is the significance of the Ticketmaster trial verdict?
I feel like this has been in the news cycle a lot. But with tickets, I do think that maybe since the pandemic, the conversation around how hard it is to get tickets has been everywhere. And it does feel like there have been a lot of lawsuits around this topic.
Yeah, well, you'd be correct.
Thank you.
I would say I used to go to concerts all the time. Like it used to be something I'd do maybe weekly because it was like a fun, easy way to get out of the house. Nowadays, if I get to one once every six months, I'm happy to do so because it's not only really expensive, but it's actually hard to buy the tickets and you're up against all these other people who are competing for the same spot.
Do you remember when I got you tickets to Addison Rae?
I do. That was very kind. And I did not have to fight for those tickets.
You didn't. I just said, Elliot, here it is.
Yeah. Well, the reason it's super topical right now as well, we've obviously got Coachella, the world's biggest music festival going on in the US.
I believe it just finished.
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Chapter 3: What are the implications of Live Nation's merger with Ticketmaster?
So in the case of something like the concert industry, it's making things more expensive to go to the concert and not making it better. And they've got no incentive to do so. And here in Australia, we've got something called antitrust laws. They're the same laws that are in the US that are part of this case.
And that is basically to monitor companies and when it starts to get to that point when they're abusing their power, the government will step in and use these laws.
I've never thought about the word Monopoly being connected to the game Monopoly. Yeah. That blew my mind. And I think when I first started hearing about this is when Taylor Swift put her or announced her concert, the Eras Tour, and initially when that came out and tickets went on sale, there was this huge debacle and she put out an announcement basically criticising Ticketmaster, right?
Yeah, exactly.
Am I remembering correctly?
I think you are. You are our Swifty correspondent on the ground here at TVA. So I think you are the person for the task. It's not necessarily that it was a Taylor Swift only incident. That kind of thing was happening all the time with a lot of artists.
But I think the scale of the demand for Taylor Swift tickets was so high in the US that when no one was able to buy tickets, and you know, there was all these allegations that the tickets were going to bots and that the service fees were so high because Live Nation and Ticketmaster had said it that way, that actually triggered a government response.
So the first thing they did was a Senate inquiry in the US into that particular incident with Taylor Swift. And that Senate inquiry then later down the line inspired this case, which was then brought.
Oh, so that was the origin of this court case. Exactly, why we're talking about it today. And so then what happened with this lawsuit? I mean, that was three years ago, four years ago?
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Chapter 4: How does the illegal monopoly case impact ticket pricing?
And, you know, their CEO even got up on the stand and blamed things like the Taylor Swift incident on a cyber attack. Like they really deflected blame throughout the trial. But in terms of the response to the verdict, they've said that it's not the last word on this matter. And they are looking into a potential appeal. route.
Oh, interesting. So what happens now, now that there has been this verdict that Live Nation and therefore Ticketmaster is running an illegal monopoly? Does that mean that they have to break up?
Well, that is up to the judge on the case. So the jury has to determine whether they are actually liable for the things that were being alleged against them. The jury has said yes. So the judge is now deciding whether the breakup is the right response.
Yes, because you always get the verdict and then you get the sentence later. Got it. Okay, so we have to wait to see what the consequence of this for them is. Got it. Does any of this impact us in Australia? Because obviously we have Ticketmaster here in Australia.
Yeah. Yeah, I mean, it's everywhere in the world. And we've seen cases all over the world against these two companies. This one is kind of the biggest one that we've ever seen. And in terms of how it affects us here in Australia, we don't have to directly follow anything that happens in the US. Our legal system doesn't work that way.
But we do take a lot of inspiration for them because of how big of a country they are and how much power they hold. So our government would be looking at the US and then working with our regulators here on the ground to see how we could take a similar approach.
Of course, what happens in the US in terms of a legal case doesn't impact us here in Australia. But like you said, the government could draw inspiration from them.
And they did actually say, the consumer watchdog, the ACCC, said they were closely watching this case.
Oh, so they have acknowledged it. Interesting. Okay, last question from me. Olivia Deen, whilst all of this has been going on, I always thought that Olivia Deen kind of brought this in some way or she did something to do with Ticketmaster or tickets somewhere. Or did she start this? No, because you said Taylor Swift started this. How does Olivia Deen come into this?
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Chapter 5: What evidence was presented against Ticketmaster during the trial?
Are you ready?
I'm ready.
Are you familiar with flakes, the chocolate?
Yes. Delicious.
Great chocolate. One of the best, I would say. I really like melting chocolate. And so one time I decided that I was going to melt my little flake that I had.
Melt a flake?
Well, you look confused and that's because you can't melt flakes. They are impossible to melt.
Wait, that is a fun fact.
Isn't that such a fun fact? And often it's so fun to bring up in social occasions because people say that simply can't be true. I have to go find a flake. And then they do that and then they put it in the microwave and it never works because you can't physically melt a flake.
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