Competition watchdog examines exclusive event ticketing deals

Finland’s Competition and Consumer Authority is examining whether exclusive ticketing agreements between ticket companies and event venues restrict competition, Yle reports. The authority confirmed the review to Yle but declined to comment further.

Under these agreements, a venue commits to selling tickets for all its events through one ticketing company. Event organisers may then be unable to choose their own ticketing partner, even though they generally bear the financial risk of production.

At Helsinki’s Veikkaus Arena, tickets for all events are sold through Ticketmaster, which is owned by US entertainment company Live Nation. Live Nation has a 20-year lease to operate the arena. Jyväskylä’s Paviljonki event venue has had an exclusive agreement with Lippu.fi, also known as Lippupiste.

Ticketing technology company Liveto contacted the authority about the issue. Its chief executive, Antti Korhonen, said the company provided information about market conditions and industry contract practices about a year ago. Liveto also sells ticketing services to event organisers.

Korhonen said the issue was broader than the interests of one company, and called for discussion about whether the ticketing market is genuinely competitive. He said the scope and duration of exclusive agreements should be examined. The agreements are not in themselves against competition law.

Ticketmaster said most of Finland’s major event venues do not have exclusive agreements with the company. It said venues decide whether to work with an exclusive ticketing partner and, if so, which provider to choose. Ticketmaster said using one partner can bring ticket sales, entry, customer service, fraud prevention and other event-day operations into one system, making them simpler and more efficient.

Eventim, which owns Lippupiste and Lippu.fi, declined to comment.

Jari Väyliö, head of mid-sized event organiser Soldout Management, said exclusive agreements can cause problems. He compared them to a house buyer being required to get excavation services and a garden fence from the same company as the house package. Organisers taking on the financial risk of a concert tour should have the right to choose their partners, he said.

Large Finnish event organiser Nelonen Media Live also declined to comment.

The issue has been examined before. In 2007, Lippupiste asked the then Competition Authority to take action over Lippupalvelu, now Ticketmaster Finland. It argued that the company’s exclusive agreements with venues and ticket outlets amounted to abuse of a dominant market position.

The authority closed the case in 2010, after Lippupiste had overtaken Lippupalvelu in market share. It said Lippupalvelu no longer held a dominant position. The authority noted, however, that exclusive agreements with venues could make it harder for new competitors to enter the market. It did not then examine whether agreements held by the two largest companies were shutting smaller operators out.