In a move that surprises absolutely no one, Live Nation continues to prioritize excessive profits and shareholder returns over the fans that make their industry possible.
It’s no secret that Ticketmaster and parent company Live Nation have been under fire from fans and lawmakers alike for some time now.
Pearl Jam started the push back in the 90’s, taking a stand against the company’s alleged monopoly that they used to overcharge for tickets. They then filed a complaint with the Justice Department saying Ticketmaster then used its dominant market position to stop promoters from booking the band in a retaliatory effort. Unsurprisingly, not much came out of these lawsuits.
Ticketmaster merged with Live Nation in 2012 and has continued to expand in every single segment of the live music pipeline, from venue operations to artist management. You can read all the details behind how they leverage this vertical integration in this piece. (Please read it, I spent a lot of time on it… lol)
Since that merger, Ticketmaster/Live Nation have done nothing but continue to dominate the live music industry, effectively forcing out growing competitors and giving artists and fans alike no opt out from using their services. The Justice Department under Joe Biden officially filed an antitrust lawsuit against the company, claiming they run a monopoly, but it will be a long time before anything comes of that, if anything will at all. This came on the heels of a bombshell report claiming TM/LN colluded with vendors to decrease artist payouts.
Fans continuously flood social media with horror stories of queue lines, dynamic pricing, and outrageous service fees, the most notable being the Taylor Swift Eras Tour fiasco, but at this point fans just know they’re going to get bullied whenever their favorite artist announces a large tour…
Well, just yesterday Live Nation decided to do away with the one great product they had left and fans are absolutely furious.
What Is The Lawn Pass?
For years, Live Nation has offered the Lawn Pass, or Lawnie Pass. This allows fans to pay a one time fee for a specific music venue in return for one general admission ticket to every show. For example, last year the cost of the Lawn Pass for the Ruoff Music Center in Indianapolis, Indiana was $239 and gave them access to all 25 concerts at the venue, plus other benefits like fast pass entry, personalized credentials, and general parking. That works out to $9.56 per show, which is an absolutely incredible deal and would more than likely encourage purchasers to spend more on concessions and merch, which is good for all parties.
But, as we’d expect from Live Nation, they determined enough was enough and fans had to start shelling out way more to see acts at their local venue.
Live Nation Eliminates Lawn Pass For 2025
Live Nation took to social media yesterday to announce they were cutting the Lawn Pass for 2025 to make room for “new and exciting programs”
“We are working on new and exciting programs for summer concert season. While there will not be a Lawnie Pass program in 2025, previous Lawnies will be the first to hear about these new offerings.
We are so grateful to our Lawnie community and we can’t wait to share more with you soon. We look forward to seeing you at an upcoming show this summer.”
Fans React To Lawn Pass Roll Back
As you might expect, people are not to pleased about the Lawn Pass not being available this year…
One of the few good things @LiveNation did is going away.
No more lawn passes – I’ve had of ones these (or the version before) since 2014.
Terrible idea @Ticket_Help2022 @UnderFaceValue pic.twitter.com/0e10gihMhn
— Dylan (@Dywida) February 19, 2025
Here is another example about livenation being a greedy cooperation, the lawn pass is probably one of the best deals that music fans could use to see multiple shows at their home venue for a good price. I’d bet my salary that these “new and exciting” programs will be no good pic.twitter.com/Oci8Yd1Hhh
— Connor Feezel (@feezel_connor) February 19, 2025
HUGE slap in the face to the loyal, longtime music fans & lawn pass holders by @LiveNation & @ruoffmusicenter pic.twitter.com/iRf7rm7Vmz
— Craig M.
(@ForceOfN8ture) February 18, 2025
(@ForceOfN8ture) I’m bummed Live Nation announced the end of their Lawn Pass.
I anticipated being able to see @ChrisStapleton for the 1st time, but it’s sold out & I’m NOT paying scalper prices for a show.
Why not announce this earlier?!
Do artists besides @PearlJam even care?#LetsGoDOJ pic.twitter.com/b0PArG60Vn
— Craig M.
(@ForceOfN8ture) February 18, 2025
@LiveNation why did you guys offer a waiting list during the fall of 2024 for Lawn passes then not communicate that you’re not doing them in 2025??!
— Joshua Zlatkin (@JoshuaZlatkin) February 18, 2025
Of course, this public commentary will get us no where. It’s clear that Live Nation doesn’t listen to the concerns of fans and will continue exploiting the love people have for music and their favorite artists to pull as much money from their pockets as possible.
Honestly, nothing will change unless fans stop buying tickets and going to see concerts. That would be absolutely disastrous for the artists, who make most if not all of their money touring, and Live Nation knows this. They won’t make any changes because us fans feel that being ripped off my this corporation is still worth it to support the artists that create the soundtrack to our lives and add so much flavor to our lives.
I’m not saying to boycott concerts, I want all the artists to make all the money. But just looking at it honestly, there’s no way any changes get made unless the federal government steps in in a big way (which is always unlikely thanks to the lobbying power LN/TM has on Capitol Hill) or we stop buying these overpriced tickets.
It’s a catch-22 and I guess I’m forced to put my faith in the Justice Department at this point… fingers crossed they don’t let us down (again).
The post Live Nation Eliminates Lawn Pass (Their One Good Thing) For 2025, & Fans Are Furious first appeared on Whiskey Riff.Fuck You @LiveNation @ruoffmusicenter
God forbid people get a value. In there for shows I could give a shit less about, paying for you overpriced fucking food and drinks because they were a part of the Pass. Now parking is at cost and no lawn pass.
Fuck you guys for real.— Zaire Franklin=Culture Killer (@wehttam31) February 18, 2025