Ticketmaster UK Monopoly Inquiry: Parliament Findings and What It Means for Concert Ticket Buyers

## What did the parliamentary committee find? A House of Commons select committee published a report finding that Live Nation - parent company of Ticketmaster - directly controlled 58% of the 23.1 million tickets sold in the UK in 2025. When sales controlled by Live Nation affiliate companies are included, the figure rises to 66%. Committee Chair Liam Byrne said: "What particularly alarmed the committee was not just the scale of Live Nation's market position across promotion, venues, and ticketing, but the climate of fear we encountered during this inquiry." Ticketmaster initially refused to attend the inquiry before appearing before the committee in February 2026, and again in June alongside Live Nation.

## What does this mean for ticket buyers? The inquiry focused on market structure and competition rather than immediate consumer remedies. However, the committee's concerns about vertical integration - where the same company controls artist management, venue ownership and ticketing - are directly relevant to the prices consumers pay and the choice of platforms available. Dynamic pricing, where ticket prices rise as demand increases (as applied to some Oasis and Coldplay tours in recent years), has been a specific consumer concern that has drawn attention from the Competition and Markets Authority. ## Your rights when buying tickets Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, tickets sold by secondary resellers for more than the face value must disclose the original face value and the seat location. Failure to do so entitles the buyer to a full refund. If a concert is cancelled, the primary ticket seller is required to provide a full refund of the ticket price. This does not automatically extend to booking fees unless the terms of sale state otherwise. Disputes with ticketing companies can be referred to Trading Standards or, where consumer credit was used to purchase, to the Financial Ombudsman Service.