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

The trade body recently provided evidence for a Business and Trade Committee inquiry into pricing, competition and consumer protection.

On June 24, Phil Bowdery, executive president, touring international music, Live Nation, and Andrew Parsons, managing director, Ticketmaster, gave oral evidence to the session.

You can watch the session HERE.

A transcript of the session can be found HERE.

The inquiry was presented with an analysis of 23 million tickets on sale for arenas, stadiums and outdoor concerts taking place in the UK in 2025 which showed that the company, either directly or through the companies they own control 66 per cent of those shows.

The information presented to the Live Nation representatives was sent to the committee by AIF.

The data showed the following:

• Total arena, stadium and outdoor concert tickets on sale in 2025: 23,136,243 (23.1 million tickets)
• Percentage directly controlled by Live Nation: 58.36 per cent (13.5 million tickets)
• Percentage controlled by Live Nation and affiliate companies: 66.4 per cent (15.36 million tickets)

John Rostron, CEO of AIF, said: “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.”

Image: Jody Hartley