Table of Contents

• EDITOR’S RAMBLE 🗣

• FEATURED REPORT 📰

• IN OTHER NEWS 🗞

• AROUND THE WEB 🌐

• STUFF THAT MIGHT HELP YOU 👌

EDITOR’S RAMBLE 🗣

I’ve been writing this newsletter for a while now — and I sometimes get the chance to speak to you over email, or at events or wherever.

But, I was thinking it would be cool if a bunch of us could meet each other.

That would take LittleLaw from being ‘just a newsletter’ to more of a community.

So, I thought I’d ask you 👇️ 

- Idin 

FEATURED REPORT 📰

🎟️ Some might say Ticketmaster’s pricing isn’t fair

What's going on here?

Ticketmaster is being investigated by the UK's competition regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), over its handling of ticket sales for the Oasis reunion concert. Around 10 million fans from 158 countries were trying to get tickets for the event. Last week, the investigation was launched after fans complained about sudden price hikes during ticket sales.

What is the CMA investigating exactly?

Ticketmaster applied ‘dynamic pricing’ to the sale of Oasis tickets, meaning prices went up as the demand increased. During peak demand, the price of a standing ticket went from £135 to £355 at some venues (an increase of over 160%).

Is dynamic pricing illegal? No, it’s allowed under UK law. However, The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (the Regulations) requires that ticket sites provide clear and accurate pricing information to customers. 

Failing to do so could breach consumer protection law – and Sarah Cardell, Chief Executive of the CMA, suggested this might be the case here, stating, "Many people felt they had a bad experience and were surprised by the price of their tickets at checkout."

The CMA will look into whether:

• Ticketmaster has engaged in unfair business practices (banned by the Regulations), 

• customers were told that ticket prices might change due to dynamic pricing, and

• customers felt pressured to buy tickets quickly, at a higher price than they originally expected.

Are there benefits to dynamic pricing?

There’s an argument that it’s better than the alternative because the artists can benefit from it.

Without dynamic pricing, ticket scalpers often buy up tickets for popular concerts at low prices, only to resell them at much higher rates on resale sites. Since these resale sites aren’t connected to the artist, none of the extra money goes to them. 

With dynamic pricing, artists have the opportunity to capture more of the revenue that would otherwise go to resellers. Ticketmaster, which takes a percentage of the ticket price, also makes more money this way.

What do Oasis have to say?

The band’s management had agreed this pricing strategy with Ticketmaster. But Oasis themselves are claiming they had no knowledge of dynamic pricing being used.

What are the next steps?

On the CMA’s website, fans are being asked to provide evidence of misleading pricing (like screenshots they might have taken during the buying process). The CMA will also be speaking with Ticketmaster and gathering evidence from the band’s management and the concert organisers.

What could be the outcome of this investigation?

The CMA doesn’t have the authority to issue any fine to Ticketmaster, even if it’s found to have breached consumer law. However, it can take legal action against Ticketmaster to push for compliance with the Regulations or secure compensation for affected customers.

How has the investigation impacted Ticketmaster?

Since the CMA announced its investigation, the share price of TicketMaster’s parent company, Live Nation Entertainment, hasn’t really been affected. 

In fact, Live Nation Entertainment has much bigger issues to deal with – in May the US Department of Justice (the federal agency responsible for enforcing laws and prosecuting crimes) filed a lawsuit alleging the business had engaged in anti-competitive practices to secure a monopoly in the live entertainment industry. For example, it’s being questioned about buying up a bunch of smaller regional competitors. (Here’s a good summary of that lawsuit)

Why should law firms care?

Dynamic pricing is common practice for airlines, hotels, food delivery services, and transport companies – it’s why your Uber costs more on a Saturday night than on a Tuesday lunchtime.

But dynamic pricing is under a lot more scrutiny now – both the CMA and an upcoming government consultation are looking closely at this practice.

So, law firms should keep their clients in these industries updated about these developments. They should also be advising them to make sure all dynamic pricing situations are clearly communicated to consumers from the start.

It’s true that the CMA doesn’t have the power to fine companies for breaches of consumer law right now. But, they’ll have those powers pretty soon. The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act comes into effect later this year – it gives the CMA the power to impose fines of up to 10% of a company’s annual global turnover – ouch.

IN OTHER NEWS 🗞

• 🇺🇸 Womble Bond Dickinson is set to merge with Lewis Roca, a top 200 US law firm. This deal will create a transatlantic firm with over 1,200 lawyers. The merger will officially happen on 1 January 2025, expanding the firm's presence with 29 offices in the US and 8 in the UK.

• 🔻 A&O Shearman is set to cut 10% of its partnership (and close its Johannesburg office). The newly merged firm has confirmed that around 80 partners will be made redundant by the end of this financial year. Also, the Johannesburg office, which has been operating for 10 years, will be shut down, and the firm is also planning to close its consulting practice, Consulting by A&O Shearman. These decisions follow a review to identify the firm’s key growth areas.

• 🇬🇷 A new law in Greece allows UK-qualified lawyers to practise there. This is great for City firms with shipping, insurance, and finance clients. After Brexit, lawyers lost the right to register in Greece, but this legislation — years in the making — opens the door again for them to advise on English and international law.

• 💸 ASOS is selling a 75% stake in Topshop and Topman to a Danish retail tycoon for £135 million in cash. ASOS originally acquired the brands for £265 million from Sir Philip Green following the collapse of his retail empire. The sale to Anders Holch Povlsen comes as ASOS faces declining demand, with more shoppers returning to physical stores after the pandemic-driven surge in online shopping and reduced consumer spending due to the rising cost of living. ASOS was represented by Slaughter and May in the deal.

• 🤖 The UK’s joined Europe in taking the first steps to regulate AI by signing the Council of Europe Framework convention. As one of the first states to sign the treaty, the UK joins the 46-member Council of Europe in creating the first international legally binding agreement to ensure that AI systems align with human rights, democracy, and the rule of law.

AROUND THE WEB 🌐

• 🤑 Interesting: This site lets you understand the scale of how rich Jeff Bezos really is (I promise, you’re not even close to comprehending)

• 🇧🇹 Quiz: Can you match the countries with their flags?

• 🌈 Colour: Convert your descriptions into colour — I put in “Cloudy London Summer” and got this 👇️ 

Credit: r/internetisbeautiful

STUFF THAT MIGHT HELP YOU 👌

• 📹️ Free application help: If you're applying to commercial law firms, check out my YouTube channel for actionable tips and an insight into the lifestyle of a commercial lawyer in London.