On Wednesday, Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and the rest of the congressional subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Technology, and Data Privacy will hold a hearing on the soaring cost of concert and event tickets, a problem millions of Americans know all too well.

This should come as no surprise. Congress has said that 2026 will be the year of prioritizing cost control for the American people. On this front, there are few clearer places to act.
For years, fans have been told that sky-high ticket prices are just the unavoidable result of inflation and “market forces.” That story doesn’t hold up. 

What’s driving today’s ticket shock isn’t a free market at work. It’s a monopoly.

Congress knows it. That is why it is having an executive from that monopoly — Live Nation, the parent company of Ticketmaster — testify at the hearing, which is aptly titled "Fees Rolled on All Summer Long: Examining the Live Entertainment Industry.” 

Per ongoing Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission lawsuits, Live Nation’s sheer dominance allows it to gouge the industry at every step. It has control of over 80 percent of the primary ticketing market, owns many of the major concert venues, and controls a large chunk of the artist........

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