说到买演唱会门票这件事，美国刚发生了一件大事。Speaking of buying concert tickets, something big just happened in America.
一个法院判了Ticketmaster是垄断。A court ruled that Ticketmaster is a monopoly.
什么是Ticketmaster？What is Ticketmaster?
Ticketmaster是美国最大的卖票平台。Ticketmaster is America's biggest ticket-selling platform.
你想去看演唱会，看体育比赛，看话剧。You want to go see a concert, a sports game, a play.
大部分票都在Ticketmaster上买。Most tickets are bought on Ticketmaster.
它控制了美国大概百分之八十的演唱会门票市场。It controls about eighty percent of America's concert ticket market.
就是说你几乎没有别的地方可以买。That means you have almost no other place to buy.
Ticketmaster的母公司叫Live Nation。Ticketmaster's parent company is called Live Nation.
Live Nation不只是卖票。Live Nation doesn't just sell tickets.
它还办演唱会。It also organizes concerts.
它还管理演出场地。It also manages performance venues.
就是说唱歌的地方是它的。Meaning the place where singers perform is theirs.
卖票的平台也是它的。The ticket-selling platform is also theirs.
办演唱会的公司也是它的。The concert organizing company is also theirs.
全都是一家人。All under one family.
这就是问题。This is the problem.
如果你是一个歌手。If you are a singer.
你想办演唱会。You want to organize a concert.
你要用Live Nation的场地。You have to use Live Nation's venues.
因为最好的场地都是它的。Because the best venues are all theirs.
你要用Ticketmaster卖票。You have to use Ticketmaster to sell tickets.
因为最大的平台是它的。Because the biggest platform is theirs.
你没有选择。You have no choice.
如果你是一个买票的人。If you are a ticket buyer.
你想去看这个歌手。You want to see this singer.
你只能去Ticketmaster买。You can only buy from Ticketmaster.
因为票只在那里卖。Because tickets are only sold there.
你也没有选择。You also have no choice.
没有选择就意味着什么？Having no choice means what?
意味着它可以收很高的价钱。It means they can charge very high prices.
它可以加很多服务费。They can add lots of service fees.
反正没有别的地方买。There's no other place to buy anyway.
很多人对此不满意。Many people are unhappy about this.
特别是二零二二年。Especially in 2022.
Taylor Swift的演唱会开始卖票。Taylor Swift's concert started selling tickets.
Ticketmaster的网站崩了。Ticketmaster's website crashed.
几百万人同时想买票。Millions of people tried to buy tickets at the same time.
系统受不了。The system couldn't handle it.
很多人排了几个小时还是买不到。Many people waited hours and still couldn't buy any.
有的人好不容易进去了。Some people finally got in.
发现价格比他们想的高很多。And found the price was much higher than they expected.
因为服务费太贵了。Because the service fees were too expensive.
那件事以后。After that incident.
美国政府开始认真调查Ticketmaster。The American government started seriously investigating Ticketmaster.
二零二四年美国司法部和三十多个州一起告了Live Nation。In 2024 the US Department of Justice and over thirty states sued Live Nation together.
告他们什么？Sued them for what?
告他们垄断。Sued them for monopoly.
告他们违反了美国的反垄断法。Sued them for violating America's antitrust law.
反垄断法就是一个法律。Antitrust law is a law.
说一个公司不可以控制整个市场。That says a company cannot control an entire market.
因为那样对消费者不公平。Because that's unfair to consumers.
案子从三月份开始审。The case started being tried in March.
审了五个星期。The trial lasted five weeks.
然后陪审团商量了四天。Then the jury deliberated for four days.
最后在四月十五号做出了判决。Finally on April 15th they reached a verdict.
判决是什么？What was the verdict?
Ticketmaster和Live Nation是垄断。Ticketmaster and Live Nation are a monopoly.
他们违法了。They broke the law.
他们多收了消费者的钱。They overcharged consumers.
每张票多收了一块七毛二美元。Each ticket was overcharged by one dollar and seventy-two cents.
一块七听起来不多。One dollar seventy-two doesn't sound like much.
但是美国每年卖几亿张票。But America sells hundreds of millions of tickets each year.
乘以一块七。Times one dollar seventy-two.
那就是好几亿美元。That's several hundred million dollars.
好几亿美元从你的口袋里多拿走了。Several hundred million dollars extra taken from your pocket.
纽约州的检察长说了一句话。New York State's attorney general said something.
她说："Live Nation和Ticketmaster违了法，让消费者损失了几百万美元。She said: "Live Nation and Ticketmaster broke the law, costing consumers millions of dollars."
Ticketmaster说什么？What did Ticketmaster say?
他们说不同意这个判决。They said they disagree with the verdict.
他们说要上诉。They said they will appeal.
他们说市场上有竞争。They said there is competition in the market.
他们不是垄断。They are not a monopoly.
但是法院不这么认为。But the court doesn't think so.
现在最重要的问题是接下来会怎样。Now the most important question is what happens next.
法官要决定怎么办。The judge has to decide what to do.
很多人希望法官下令把Live Nation和Ticketmaster拆开。Many people hope the judge orders Live Nation and Ticketmaster to be split up.
拆开就是分成两个独立的公司。Split up means divided into two independent companies.
一个只办演唱会。One only organizes concerts.
一个只卖票。One only sells tickets.
这样就不能又当裁判又当球员了。That way you can't be both the referee and the player.
如果拆开了。If they're split up.
其他的卖票公司就有机会竞争了。Other ticket-selling companies would have a chance to compete.
有竞争票价就会降下来。With competition ticket prices would come down.
服务费也会降下来。Service fees would also come down.
对买票的人来说这是好事。For ticket buyers this is a good thing.
在这个案子审判期间。During this case's trial.
美国司法部已经跟Live Nation达成了一个小协议。The US Department of Justice already reached a small agreement with Live Nation.
Live Nation同意在一些场地限制服务费。Live Nation agreed to limit service fees at some venues.
也同意让场地有更多自由选择用哪个平台卖票。And agreed to let venues have more freedom to choose which platform sells tickets.
但这只是一个开始。But this is just a beginning.
真正的改变还要看法官怎么判。Real change depends on how the judge rules.
很多歌手也对Ticketmaster不满意。Many singers are also unhappy with Ticketmaster.
Pearl Jam，Taylor Swift，The Cure，Olivia Dean。Pearl Jam, Taylor Swift, The Cure, Olivia Dean.
他们都公开批评过Ticketmaster的做法。They have all publicly criticized Ticketmaster's practices.
觉得服务费太高。Feeling the service fees are too high.
觉得系统经常出问题。Feeling the system often has problems.
觉得买票的体验很差。Feeling the ticket-buying experience is terrible.
这个判决是一个信号。This verdict is a signal.
告诉大公司：你不能一家独大。Telling big companies: you can't dominate alone.
你不能因为没有竞争就随便加价。You can't just raise prices because there's no competition.
法律会管你。The law will hold you accountable.
对我们这些普通买票的人来说。For us ordinary ticket buyers.
这是一个好消息。This is good news.
也许以后买票真的会便宜一些。Maybe in the future buying tickets will really be cheaper.
也许以后你有更多选择。Maybe in the future you'll have more choices.
