Trevor Noah, Jack Antonoff Blasts Ticketmaster Following Senate Probe on Livenation Merger

Talking about pressing issues and significant topics is unavoidable in award shows like the Grammy Awards.

Last night at the 2023 Grammy Awards, Trevor Noah took a dig at probably one of the most controversial issues that the music industry is facing right now - soaring concert ticket prices.

While talking to Taylor Swift, Noah cheekily thanked Taylor Swift fans for calling on the senate and other government agencies to probe the monopoly that is Live Nation and Ticketmaster merger.

"I've got to tell you, Taylor, you have the best fans in the world," she told Swift. "I mean, what they did with Ticketmaster, what they might do for artists all over the world, what they might do for fans who want to go to concerts is amazing."

Last January 2023, the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights started its investigation into the merger. In the probe titled "That's The Ticket: Promoting Competition and Protecting Consumers in Live Entertainment," the US senate goes a deep dive into the disastrous Taylor Swift "The Eras Tour" ticket presale.

In an interview with Taylor Swift's close collaborator Jack Antonoff, who won the Grammy Award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical, last night, he became candid on his thoughts of soaring ticket prices - which was another dig to Ticketmaster.

"Look, I've asked very simple things of the industry. Let artists opt out of dynamic pricing. Stop taxing merch, and let artists sell tickets at a price that they actually believe. Don't turn a live show into a free market. That's really dirty," he said in an interview as quoted by NME.

Per Antonoff, the whole conundrum was "incredibly tough." He went on to describe that buying a car online swiftly and free of hassle is a lot easier than buying a concert ticket at the price that the artist wants it to be.

"Charge what you think is fair. But if for one person $50 is nothing, and one person $50 is more than they could ever spend, you're creating a situation where a different group can come together at one price," he furthered.

Antonoff was behind many of Swift's biggest albums to date. Most recently, Antonoff's work was shown on "Midnights," which Noah described on the Grammys to have sold last October 2022 more than any artist on the planet.

Tags

Ticketmaster, Live Nation, Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff, Trevor Noah