[This story, breaking on Monday, may have implications for all commercial
entertainment events, including classical music, well beyond the battle
between Madison House and Ticketmaster, the plague on both their houses.
The text is from the band's press release.]
TICKETMASTER SUED IN FEDERAL COURT FOR ANTI-TRUST VIOLATIONS
NEW YORK, NY August 11 - Today, members of the rock band
The String Cheese Incident, joined representatives of their
ticketing company, SCI Ticketing, and others at a news
conference in New York City to explain the details of a lawsuit
filed in the U.S. Federal Court in Denver, Colorado last week.
SCI Ticketing filed the lawsuit claiming that ticketing giant
Ticketmaster has monopolized the ticketing industry, using
its immense market power to prevent competition for the sale
of concert tickets. SCI Ticketing is the first artist-centered
ticketing company to sue Ticketmaster in federal court.
SCI Ticketing is owned by The String Cheese Incident and
their management company, Madison House Inc., based in Boulder,
Colorado. Madison House is a management and booking agency
that was started in 1996 with the vision of centralizing all
of the music industry's individual functions. SCI Ticketing
is one of the "family of businesses" located in the Madison
House/String Cheese headquarters.
According to Neil L. Glazer, an attorney at the Philadelphia
law firm, Kohn Swift and Graf, P.C., who is leading the team
of lawyers representing SCI Ticketing in the lawsuit, SCI
Ticketing "had no other recourse than to take legal action."
"SCI Ticketing has literally hit the wall in terms of being
able to sell tickets directly to fans because of Ticketmaster's
anticompetitive practices," Glazer said. "Our client has
carved out a truly unique and successful way to do business.
Unfortunately, they simply cannot compete because Ticketmaster
is restricting the supply of concert tickets."
Because Ticketmaster has exclusive dealing arrangements with
so many venues and promoters, they have closed out independent,
artist-driven ticketing companies like SCI Ticketing. This
has made it increasingly difficult for Madison House to book
bands such as The String Cheese Incident, who feel strongly
about having the right to sell an allotment of their tickets
directly to fans.
Glazer said that the antitrust violations alleged in the suit
include:
- Ticketmaster has entered into combinations, agreements,
or conspiracies with promoters, venues and others, in
restraint of trade, in violation of section 1 of the Sherman
Antitrust Act.
- Ticketmaster has monopolized, attempted to monopolize,
or abused its monopoly power in the market for the sale of
tickets to popular music concerts, in violation of section
2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act.
In addition, SCI Ticketing asserts a state law claim for
tortious interference with prospective business advantage.
"The decision to file this lawsuit was not one taken lightly,"
Glazer added. "SCI Ticketing is a very small company, and
Ticketmaster is one of the behemoths of the concert industry.
By filing this lawsuit, SCI Ticketing is hoping to put a stop
to anticompetitive practices that harm not only innovative
young companies, but also artists and consumers."
Mike Luba, co-founder of SCI Ticketing and a partner in Madison
House Inc., believes that being able to compete in the concert
ticketing industry is critical to his organization's creative
and business philosophy. "For bands like The String Cheese
Incident, who depend on heavy touring and lasting fan
relationships in order to succeed, services like direct
artist-to-fan ticketing are essential. It allows fans to
enjoy the complete String Cheese experience, from beginning
to end," Luba said. "This involves giving the fans unprecedented
attention for the essential part they play in the artists '
career, and being able to offer fans SCI performances in high
quality venues and with affordable prices. Today, cultivating
an artists' fan base through such things as touring, creative
internet communications, and how they sell tickets are some
of the ways for bands to survive outside the music industry's
corporate machine. Bands like The String Cheese Incident
rely on these tools for survival," he added.
Keith Moseley, bassist/vocalist of The String Cheese Incident,
said the band has aligned SCI Ticketing with their creative
vision to fulfill a life-long dream. "Its been a huge
commitment - our touring and reinvesting and sacrifice," said
Moseley. "We hope this action sends the message loud and
clear that monopolies like Ticketmaster cannot and will not
be the only game in town; our fans deserve more than that."
"We are not saying Ticketmaster doesn't have a place in the
ticketing business, but we have a different philosophy of
doing business, one that caters more directly to our fans,"
said Jason Mastrine, general manager of SCI Ticketing. "Now,
for the first time in our company's history, Ticketmaster
is preventing us from acquiring the same reasonable ticket
allocations we used to get from promoters and venues. There's
room for everyone in the mix."
According to Luba, the music industry is changing dramatically
with many artists wanting to take more control of their own
careers. "This involves everything from the labels they
choose to who does their ticketing," Luba continued. "But
it's not just about artists wanting to control their own
destiny and providing better service to their fans, it's also
an economic issue. For many artists in today's music industry,
touring has become a much more important source of revenue
than record sales because constant touring encourages community
building and fan loyalty, which promotes a sustainable career."
"The music industry is suffering right now, but there is no
reason that the artists and their fans have to go down with
it. We hope that the positive ramifications of filing this
lawsuit will reach well beyond just The String Cheese Incident
and their fans, and benefit everyone," Luba said.
Janos Gereben/SF
www.sfcv.org
[log in to unmask]
|
