Live Nation, Cartoon Monopolist

Plus the working class's unrequited love affair with the GOP.

How much of a monopoly is Live Nation? Well, a couple of years ago the HBO comedian John Oliver produced a memorable segment that explained why it’s “one of the most hated companies on earth.” Two years later, Oliver is touring the country making a series of live stand-up appearances. Who’s booking the venues and furnishing the tickets? Live Nation and its subsidiary, Ticketmaster. Oliver isn’t a hypocrite, just an inhabitant of the United States, where Live Nation can’t be avoided. My latest New Republic piece is about the Justice Department’s new antitrust suit against Live Nation and why I think it will succeed. You can read it here.

I neglected yesterday to promote another New Republic piece about the GOP’s loathing of organized labor and the working class’s stubborn resistance to noticing this. You can read that here.