Is This The End Of Ticketmaster and Live Nation's Monopoly?

The Department of Justice is gearing up to launch a major antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster and Live Nation, arguing that they have a monopoly on the live ticket industry.

The once unfathomable move became a reality thanks to immense public pressure after millions of Taylor Swift fans were shut out from receiving promotional codes or accessing presale tickets for Swift's Eras Tour last year. You all remember what happened - absolute mayhem as hundreds of thousands of Swifties lost their damn minds with parents panicking about how they were going to get tickets so their kids would stop crying about it. As a result of Ticketmaster's incredible blunder, secondary market tickets were going for upwards of $10,000 a piece. Yikes. 

Taylor Swift Ticketmaster / Getty Images / Ticketmaster / Live Nation

DOJ LOOKING TO BREAK UP TICKETMASTER / LIVE NATION

Of course, politicians, who are never ones to miss an opportunity, immediately seized upon the perceived monopoly and injustice that Ticketmaster - owned by Live Nation caused Americans all across the country. 

The problem for Ticketmaster is that both sides of the political aisle came together against them; at the time, it was even joked that Ticketmaster knew they were in trouble when both Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Texas Republican Ted Cruz were both agreeing with each other that something needed to be done to reign in the ticketing agency. That Taylor Swift effect is real!

The optics of Ticketmaster's defense don't look so great as they control 70% of the live event ticketing space and 80% of concert ticketing. 

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing titled Thats the Ticket: Promoting Competition and Protecting Consumers in Live Entertainment,. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

WHAT'S THIS MEAN?

There's no doubt that the DOJ is looking to break up Ticketmaster / Live Nation here.

 This DOJ imparticular has been hell-bent on antitrust violations. Recently, they refused to allow JetBlue and Spirit Airlines to merge, as well as expected to stop the Alaskan-Hawaiian Airlines merger. They are also currently embattled in a major antitrust suit against Apple - the third one they've launched in 14 years. They aren't scared about LiveNation - however, that's not to say that politics won't be getting involved.

You might not know this, but the secondhand ticketing / scalping industry is a massive lobby in Washington DC. Live Nation - which owns the overwhelming majority of live venus in the country, has an inherent interest in Ticketmaster - which they also own, to have the highest ticketing price possible because it brings in the most revenue. And by limiting competition, Ticketmaster essentially has - you guessed it, a monopoly. 

The lobbying groups will do anything and everything they can to continue to make this happen. Just think of venue names like Prudential Center, or any of the PNC Bank Arenas - those are all Live Nation operated. Those same big name companies provide major fundraising for many politicians.

READ: TAYLOR SWIFT TICKETS ARE GOING FOR THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS

Regardless of when the antitrust suit is filed, don't expect your sports or concert ticket prices to go down anytime soon. Personally, I don't believe that anything will happen before November of the election year. You can also be sure that this will be appealed multiple times. In a statement, Ticketmaster denied any wrongdoing and said that there are plenty of competing marketplaces for fans to get tickets. 

For now, it looks like it's going to be ‘Sorry Swifties’ (and your parents) - you better start saving up that money because, as Taylor Swift sings on her latest album, "You're on your own, Kid."