The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) should launch a “full market investigation” into the live music industry before the end of 2026 says the UK Commons Business and Trade Committee over concerns towards Live Nation, and potentially other companies operating within live music, over market dominance.
The CMA has been urged to launch the investigation as Live Nation and potentially others may break all three of the CMA factors in determining market dominance, which include market shares, barriers to entry and buyer power.
The Commons Business and Trade Committee has stated that the business model of Live Nation specifically uses long-term agreements with exclusivity terms for artists, which “make(s) it difficult for artists and managers to operate independently of its ecosystem.” The report also states that this model hurts emerging talent and independent festivals alike as its dominance halts access and scale for artists through the wider touring circuit, while for festivals its becoming more difficult to secure acts tied to large companies.
The committee also stated that Live Nation directly controlled 58% of primary ticketing in the 23.1 million tickets on sale in 2025. This increases to 66% if sales controlled by its affiliate companies are included, it says.
“A call for written evidence elicited 45 submissions, with a significant proportion requesting to submit anonymously or confidentially for fear of reprisal. In itself this triggered alarm about whether Live Nation has a dominant and controlling market position, and the climate of fear this may have created in the industry,” the CMA went on to say.
A full report can be read here, which was initiated after the way Oasis reunion concert tickets had been marketed. For the 2025 concerts, a later investigation found that the Live Nation subsidiary Ticketmaster had misled consumers and used unclear ticketing practices.
In a statement, John Rostron, Association of Independent Festivals (AIF), said on the report: “AIF welcomes the committee’s report and fully supports the recommendations in particular the call for the Competition And Markets Authority (CMA) to move speedily to conduct a priority investigation into the live music industry to improve market functioning and deliver growth in the UK.
The burden of this work will fall upon the CMA. We ask that the Department for Business and Trade step up to find the additional support in order to fully resource the CMA to do their job. The money spent now will be returned many times over by that which is currently being lost by audiences and independent festivals, promoters and artists as a result of Live Nation’s control, including contributions being witheld from the grassroots by Live Nation’s poor adoption of the £1 Live Trust donation.
The Committee remarks upon the climate of fear they encountered during this inquiry, with people worried about the consequences of speaking openly. As CEO of AIF I want to pay thanks to the AIF Board and our member festivals who stood together as we brought evidence forward to the committee last June. This bold move, and our supporting public statement, opened the door to this inquiry. I want to thank all those who then also took steps to make submissions – by name, or anonymously – and those who continue to reach out to us or work with us. Today’s report shows what is possible.
There is still a long way to go. Now is the time for others to come forward. We will enjoy a long summer of independent, creative, vibrant music festivals whilst we continue to gather evidence, data and everything else needed for the work coming this Autumn. Together we can bring about change for a fairer, more equitable, more nourishing and more independent live music ecosystem.“
A spokesperson for Live Nation added: “This report misrepresents the UK live music industry by relying on inaccurate data and unsupported conclusions. Live Nation competes every day for tours, venues and artists in a highly competitive market.
We will engage constructively with any process that benefits artists, fans and the wider industry, but debate about the sector must be based on evidence, not allegation and hearsay.”
Correction: an earlier version of this story attributed this report to the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The original report comes from the Business and Trade Committee.
