Congressman Calls Out Metallica + Live Nation in Ticketing Scam
After it was exposed last week, a U.S. congressman spoke out against the reported ticket scam brokered between camps for Metallica and Live Nation, saying "these problems are not going away."
Reports surfaced July 19 that a ticketing consultant who worked for Metallica conspired with the promoter to place up to 88,000 concert tickets directly on the resale market. Billboard obtained a taped conversation between Live Nation's president of U.S. concerts, Bob Roux, and the representative who was revealed to be Metallica associate Tony DiCoiccio hashing out the details of the plan.
But in testimony before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce following the plot's uncovering, New Jersey congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr. called it "the latest scam" involving the sale of concert tickets, Digital Music News reported.
"Unbeknownst to fans, apparently Ticketmaster and Live Nation were working with [Metallica's] management to hold back 88,000 tickets, and post them directly on resale sites," the congressman recapped.
He continued, "Live Nation admitted to the scheme last week and about a dozen artists between 2016 and 2017 could still be doing the same. This is wrong."
Pascrell is pushing for the implementation of The BOSS Act, or the Better Oversight of Secondary Sales and Accountability in Concert Ticketing Act.
The politician has been critical of Live Nation and the associated Ticketmaster in the past: "The combined behemoth dominates a combined $9 billion per year industry, and holds over 80 percent of market share," he said. (Ticketmaster merged with Live Nation under the name Live Nation Entertainment in 2010.)
Rock fans may remember when Pearl Jam took on Ticketmaster in 1994. The alternative band claimed the ticket giant was driving out all of its competitors, and subsequently driving up ticket prices.
As of now, Metallica are in the midst of their 2019 "WorldWired Tour" with Ghost before heading down to Australia for some dates with Slipknot this fall.
All Metallica Songs Ranked