W
elcome to the TechCrunch Trade, a weekly startups-and-markets e-newsletter. It’s impressed by the every day TechCrunch+ column the place it will get its identify. Need it in your inbox each Saturday? Join right here.
When The Treatment’s frontman Robert Smith mentioned he was “sickened” by Ticketmaster charges, many people felt vindicated. The platform then refunded some charges, however scalpers at the moment are at it, too, and promoting complete Ticketmaster accounts as an alternative of tickets. Is there nonetheless hope for concertgoers? — Anna
Enjoying monopoly
If you’re eager for a Ticketmaster different, you’re not alone. Whether or not you’re a fan of Taylor Swift, The Treatment or Dangerous Bunny, causes abound to resent the self-described “world’s main dwell leisure ticketing platform.”
Is all of the hate warranted? Possibly not. Or quite, the platform may simply be shouldering greater than its share of accountability. “It’s simple responsible Ticketmaster and say it’s their fault,” its former CEO Fred Rosen, who ran the corporate from 1982 to 1998, informed CBC Radio in January. “What determines pricing is demand.”
Regulators in lots of nations beg to disagree. Earlier this 12 months, the U.S. Senate questioned Dwell Nation, which acquired Ticketmaster in 2010, over considerations that it’s a monopoly.