How Live Nation allegedly terrorized the concert industry
SeatGeek was close to a deal that would bring its ticketing business to the next level. The company was in negotiations with the Dallas Cowboys, aiming to take over first-party sales at its stadium. But there was one sticking point: "the concert issue." The team feared that if it dropped SeatGeek's rival Ticketmaster, Ticketmaster's parent company Live Nation could pull concerts from the team's stadium, damaging an important revenue stream.
That's how SeatGeek CEO Jack Groetzinger remembers things. The deal was ultimately successful, resulting in a primary ticketing partnership that was announced in 2018. But for a while, Groetzinger recall …