UK Association Of Independent Festivals Raises Competition Concerns About Live Nation

The UK’s Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) has called for an investigation into Live Nation by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

The announcement comes after the trade body provided evidence for a Business and Trade Committee inquiry into pricing, competition and consumer protection, which Live Nation UK and Ticketmaster UK execs took part in on Tuesday, June 24.

Committee members presented the execs with AIF’s own analysis of 23 million tickets on sale for arenas, stadiums, and outdoor concerts taking place in the UK in 2025, “which showed that Live Nation, either directly or through the companies they own (ie Cuffe & Taylor, DF Concerts, Metropolis) control 66% of those shows,” according to a press release from AIF.

The data showed the “total arena, stadium and outdoor concert tickets on sale in 2025” standing at 23,136,243; the “percentage directly controlled by Live Nation” at 58.36% (13.5 million tickets); and the “percentage controlled by Live Nation and affiliate companies” at 66.4% (15.36 million tickets).

AIF points out that the “monopoly threshold in the UK” stood at 25%.

During the committee hearing, which can be read or watched on the UK parliament’s website, Live Nation president of touring, international, Phil Bowdery, voiced his doubts about the accuracy of these figures, and emphasized the competitive and low-margin nature of this business. He also pointed out that the committee’s investigation was only focused on the high-capacity events, implying that this skewed the overall picture, because Live Nation was also promoting at the club and theater level.

AIF CEO John Rostron commetned, “Based on our analysis, we believe that there is evidence to suggest that Live Nation could be held responsible for engaging in anti-competitive behaviour and we therefore recommend that the Competition and Markets Authority investigate matters.

“While we encourage and support organisations and individuals putting on the biggest shows, we wish for the market to be fair where all participants -– whether major companies or independents -– have opportunities at all levels. That’s why we took this action.”

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