In a Jam Over Pearl Jam

We don’t know whether Ticketmaster will have a serious antitrust problem with the U.S. Justice Department in the future, but the well-known, Los Angeles-based ticket firm would be the first to admit that it surely has a public relations problem now.

The popular Seattle rock quintet Pearl Jam has charged that Ticketmaster conspired to keep promoters from booking the band for a planned nationwide tour this summer. Pearl Jam’s complaint, filed with the Justice Department’s antitrust division, alleges that Ticketmaster pressured promoters to boycott the tour because the company opposed the band’s desire to hold concert ticket prices to under $20 and limit service fees to no more than $1.80 per ticket. The Justice Department, for its part, confirms only that it is conducting an investigation into alleged anti-competitive practices in ticket distribution.

As anyone who has been to a concert lately can attest, 20 bucks is a bargain, especially to see one of the premier rock music acts in the country. Tickets for a typical concert in Southern California now are priced between $20 and $50, including service charges that can inflate the cost of a ticket by as much as $8. Seats for some well-known acts have sold for $100 and up.

To be sure, the music business is a business. And Ticketmaster, which vehemently denies the allegation, has a point when it argues that promoters, along with individual music acts, should be able to base ticket prices on what the market will bear. Moreover, it’s also true that consumers can bypass Ticketmaster by simply purchasing tickets from a venue’s box office.

Nonetheless there is a lot of discussion in the music industry about the relationship among ticket vendors, concert promoters and other parties and about whether that relationship contributes to higher prices for customers.

This new publicity about ticket inflation will no doubt revive the issue among lawmakers in both Sacramento and Congress. Whatever the outcome of the controversy, Pearl Jam has certainly brought the issue of ticket affordability to center stage.