Association of Independent Festivals calls for breakup of Live Nation

The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) has called for the breakup of Live Nation.

Writing on Instagram, the not-for-profit organisation said the events giant’s combined market power undermines independent promoters and stifles competition within the entertainment industry.

“Our data showed that Live Nation and affiliated companies control the majority of arena, stadium and outdoor concert tickets in 2025,” the Instagram post said. “The UK monopoly threshold is 25%. Market dominance position is 40%. Live Nation control 66.4%.”

The post goes on to highlight that Live Nation control 75% of the shows at Manchester’s Co-Op Live arena in September alone, arguing that this is not an example of “fair competition”.

The move comes just months after the AIF called on the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority to investigate business practices carried out by Live Nation. It also provided evidence for a Business and Trade Committee inquiry into pricing, competition and consumer protection in June, though Live Nation’s Phil Bowdery and Andrew Parsons pushed back against the figures that the AIF had given to the inquiry.

The US-based Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also recently filed a lawsuit against Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation arguing that they charge users exorbitant fees and allow the use of bots to buy tickets in bulk and resell them at a markup, sometimes as high as 500%.