UK MPs are pressing the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to launch a full market investigation into the live music industry before the end of 2026.
The House of Commons’ Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee renewed the call on Sunday (October 18), citing what it described as Live Nation‘s “dominance” across promotion, venues, festivals, and ticketing.
“Britain’s live music industry should reward talent, not simply market power,” said Committee Chair Liam Byrne. “We found a climate of fear, barriers for artists and grassroots venues missing out.
“It’s clear to us that the CMA must launch a full investigation for the simple reason that fans and performers deserve a fair deal – and they deserve it now.”
The Committee first called for a full market investigation in a report published in May, when it was known as the Business and Trade Committee.
The CMA has yet to announce one, and MPs are now writing back to the regulator to ask for details and a timeline of its next steps, the Committee said in a statement.
“It’s clear to us that the CMA must launch a full investigation for the simple reason that fans and performers deserve a fair deal – and they deserve it now.”
Liam Byrne, UK MP
The Committee’s May report, citing data from the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF), found that Live Nation directly controlled 58% of the 23.1 million primary tickets on sale for arena, stadium, and other large-scale UK concerts in 2025.
That share rose to 66% when sales controlled by affiliated companies were included.
MPs concluded that Live Nation‘s position raised concerns against all three of the factors the CMA uses to assess market dominance.
The report also raised concerns that Live Nation uses long-term exclusivity agreements that make access to its venues “contingent on participation in its festivals (or vice versa).”
Evidence submitted to the inquiry alleged that third-party ticket agents involved in sales are required to integrate their systems with Ticketmaster‘s, allowing Live Nation to retain customer data even from competitors and use it across promotion, marketing, and event operations.
Limited uptake of a voluntary levy on arena and stadium tickets, intended to support grassroots music, had been “widely attributed” to Live Nation‘s failure to implement it, the report said.
As of March 2026, 30% of tickets sold for shows that year had supported the levy, according to the report. It noted, however, that Live Nation had recently worked with artists who paid into it, including Coldplay, Biffy Clyro, and Harry Styles.
In July, The Times reported that the CMA had begun contacting industry figures, including some of Live Nation’s critics, to arrange meetings as it prepared for a possible investigation.
In a response to the Committee’s report, quoted by Music Week, the CMA said: “We will continue to carefully analyse the Committee’s evidence and engage with stakeholders across the supply chain to undertake our own initial assessment of potential harms in the market, including careful consideration of whether future CMA work could deliver benefits for consumers and the wider economy.”
It added that it planned for the CMA Board to consider “whether to undertake formal markets work in this area in the autumn,” and that it would update the Committee afterward.
In June 2025, Emma Cochrane, then the CMA’s Acting Executive Director of Consumer Protection, told the Committee that the regulator was considering a market study or a market investigation “which would be on a timeframe of 18 to 24 months.”
Cochrane said such an investigation would “open up the possibility of making orders, including breaking up a business.”
Kate Dearden, a minister at the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, also wrote to the Committee in response to its report, according to Music Week.
“We will continue to engage closely with the CMA on developments in the live events market, but we do not consider it appropriate for government to pre-empt or direct the use of the CMA’s statutory powers,” she said. “This approach maintains the integrity of the UK’s competition framework, while ensuring that the regulator remains able to act decisively in the interests of consumers where the evidence justifies it.”
Live Nation rejected the Committee’s conclusions when the report was published in May.
“This report misrepresents the UK live music industry by relying on inaccurate data and unsupported conclusions,” a Live Nation UK spokesperson said at the time. “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,” Live Nation added.
In written evidence submitted to the Committee in January, Live Nation said: “Estimating the market share of any industry player, including Live Nation, is inherently difficult and subject to significant year-by-year fluctuations, depending on which artists are touring and which promoter(s) they choose to work with.”
The company said in the same submission that it owns or operates, in full or in part, 26 festivals in the UK, which it said represents less than 5% of UK festivals.
MPs have been pressing the CMA on live music since fans complained about the 2024 sale of tickets for Oasis‘ reunion tour.
The regulator secured commitments from Ticketmaster in September 2025 to make its ticket sales more transparent, following an investigation into the Oasis on-sale.
The CMA said at the time that it had not found evidence that Ticketmaster used “dynamic pricing” in that sale.
The UK pressure comes as Live Nation contests an antitrust defeat in the US.
In April, a federal jury in Manhattan found that Live Nation and Ticketmaster had illegally monopolized primary ticketing at major US concert venues, and that consumers had been overcharged by USD $1.72 per ticket at those venues.
The coalition of more than 30 states and the District of Columbia that won the case has since asked the court to order Live Nation to divest Ticketmaster.
Live Nation and Ticketmaster have asked the court to throw out the verdict or order a new trial. In June, Judge Arun Subramanian paused discovery on remedies until he rules on those motions.Music Business Worldwide
