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National Independent Venue Association on Instagram: "“When a company becomes too dominant, too vertically integrated, and too powerful to regulate through promises and consent decrees, the only effective solution is structural separation.”
On Monday, NIVA member Jerry Mickelson of @JAMUSA testified at a bicameral spotlight forum on Capitol Hill — drawing on more than 50 years as an independent Chicago promoter to show exactly how the @LiveNation–@Ticketmaster monopoly was built, and what it has cost.
In his opening remarks, Jerry laid out the numbers: In 1996, Jam Productions promoted roughly 130 arena concerts; by 2025, that number had fallen to four — a 97% collapse he traces not to competition, but to one company controlling the tours, the venues, and the ticketing all at once. He warned Congress this would happen back in 2009. Now, with the average top-tour ticket up from about $26 to more than $134 over that same stretch, his ask is the structural fix antitrust law has long demanded: break Live Nation and Ticketmaster apart, so no single corporation controls the live entertainment industry from the artist to the fan.
🎥 Watch his full statement to Congress to learn what’s at stake."
2,903 likes, 103 comments - nivassoc on May 20, 2026: "“When a company becomes too dominant, too vertically integrated, and too powerful to ...