Mexico’s federal consumer protection office Profeco has reported that a Mexico City judge has admitted a class action lawsuit against Ticketmaster and promoter Ocesa.

The Live Nation companies are subject to multiple claims from consumers that have accumulated since 2021, alleging various breaches such as unilateral cancellation of tickets, breach of conditions and refusal to give full refunds, including service charges.

The Ninth District Judge in Civil Matters of the country’s capital, Guillermo Campos Osorio, described the lawsuit filed by Profeco as “admissible” and gave the green light to the collective action, which currently represents 521 consumers.

“These situations reflect a general breach in the provision of the entertainment service regarding various musical, cultural, sporting, artistic and recreational events, violating the rights of consumers,” reads a Profeco press release.

“This collective action is a watershed in the defence of the right to use, enjoy and enjoy cultural and entertainment services, endorsing Profeco’s commitment to eradicate abuses and asymmetries by these service providers.”

Profeco is inviting other affected consumers to come forward and join the class action lawsuit

The organisation is inviting other consumers “affected or affected by the cancellation of your tickets, denial of access or refund of your money for the cancellation to attend any cultural, sports or entertainment event during the period from 2021 to date” to come forward and join the lawsuit.

Earlier this year, Ticketmaster Mexico provided refunds and additional compensation after more than 2,000 fans were denied entry to a Bad Bunny concert at Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium.

The company reported that problems occurred “due to failures in its ticket reading system” at the first of two dates at the venue by the Puerto Rican rapper, in addition to “an unprecedented number of fake tickets”. Ticketmaster avoided being fined as it has refunded the full price of the ticket, plus 20% compensation, to those affected, with the total amounting to almost 18.2 million pesos (€914,000).

Ticketmaster Mexico announced the appointment of Ana María Arroyo as its new director, replacing the long-serving Lorenza Baz, in the wake of the controversy.

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Ticketmaster Mexico has provided refunds and additional compensation after more than 2,000 fans were denied entry to a Bad Bunny concert at Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium.

The company reported that problems occurred “due to failures in its ticket reading system” at the first of two dates at the venue by the Puerto Rican rapper. It also cited “an unprecedented number of fake tickets”, with upwards of 4.5 million people having registered for the 120,000 available tickets for the 10-11 December shows.

Ticketmaster has avoided being fined as it has refunded the full price of the ticket, plus 20% compensation, to those affected, with the total amounting to almost 18.2 million pesos (€914,000). So far, 2,155 customers have received reimbursement and compensation.

For the second concert, federal consumer protection office Profeco deployed a team of verifiers at the entrance of the venue in an effort to minimise the issues seen on night one.

“Unlike the first show, access flowed without major problems and 110 consumers turned to Profeco because they could not enter,” reads a press release from Mexico’s Federal Consumer Attorney’s office.

“Ticketmaster also referred to failures in the scanning equipment given the high concentration of mobile devices”

“For its part, the Ticketmaster company reported at the time that there were a large number of tickets that were not purchased through official channels and/or legitimate tickets printed several times; that is, simple photocopies of the same ticket with which it was intended to enter the event. Due to these events, the company reported that it filed two complaints with the competent authorities.

“Ticketmaster also referred to failures in the scanning equipment given the high concentration of mobile devices; the signal degraded intermittently, causing ticket reading to stall on devices while offline and to break out when handhelds were reconnected, resulting in valid tickets not being read correctly.”

The fallout from the incident was such that Mexico president Andrés Manuel López Obrador called on Bad Bunny to give a free concert in the capital’s central Zócalo plaza.

Last year saw Bad Bunny – real name Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio – usurp Ed Sheeran as the highest-grossing touring artist in a calendar year, generating $435,388,660 for 81 shows in 2022.

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Ticketmaster Mexico has announced the appointment of Ana María Arroyo as its new director, replacing the long-serving Lorenza Baz.

Arrayo, who comes from a digital background, will be tasked with accelerating the firm’s technological transformation, as well as clamping down on illegal ticket resale sites, reports Forbes Mexico.

“The change in the leadership of Ticketmaster opens a new stage of leadership, which reaffirms our determination to improve the experience of fans, event promoters, venues and commercial allies, as well as ensuring the quality of our service,” it says

Ticketmaster also pays tribute to Arrayo’s predecessor’s “achievements and contribution to the evolution of the ticket industry in Mexico” over 30 years with the company, praising Baz as a “benchmark of professionalism to follow”.

Baz’s departure comes a month after Ticketmaster Mexico was absolved of blame for the controversy at Bad Bunny’s concerts at Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium, which saw 2,000 fans denied entry.

More than 4.5 million people had registered for the 120,000 available tickets for the 10-11 December shows

Ticketmaster says more than 4.5 million people had registered for the 120,000 available tickets for the 10-11 December shows.

The firm cited “an unprecedented number of fake tickets” and problems with the ticket-reading system for the incident. Federal consumer protection office Profeco initially accused Ticketmaster of overselling tickets for the concerts, but has since walked back the claims.

According to Mexico News Daily, Profeco head Ricardo Sheffield now accepts the issues were caused by failure of the venue’s ticket-scanning devices due to patchy internet access. He added that video footage showed empty spaces where the fans locked out with tickets would have been seated.

The fallout was such that Mexico president Andrés Manuel López Obrador has called on the Puerto Rican rapper to give a free concert in the capital’s central Zócalo plaza.

Last year saw Bad Bunny usurp Ed Sheeran as the highest-grossing touring artist in a calendar year, generating $435,388,660 for 81 shows in 2022, according to Pollstar data, surpassing the $432.4 million box office takings of Sheeran’s 94 ÷ (Divide) tour dates in 2018.

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Bad Bunny has usurped Ed Sheeran as the highest-grossing touring artist in a calendar year.

The Puerto Rican rapper generated $435,388,660 for 81 shows in 2022, according to Pollstar data, surpassing the $432.4 million box office takings of Sheeran’s 94 ÷ (Divide) tour dates in 2018.

Real name Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, Bad Bunny sold 574,000 tickets for his El Último Tour del Mundo arena run from February to April, and 2,478,876 tickets for the World’s Hottest Tour, which hit stadiums in August and wrapped up with two nights at Azteca Stadium (cap. 87,523) in Mexico City this past weekend.

“I think we all feel very proud of what he’s accomplished,” Hans Schafer, Live Nation’s, SVP of global touring, tells Pollstar. “It’s a feat that is remarkable. It is huge for Latin music and unprecedented and a remarkable accomplishment on its own, regardless of genre to see an artist of his age reaching those heights is just something that makes it very promising for us, of what the future holds.”

Bad Bunny’s agent Jbeau Lewis of UTA adds that the artist and his manager Noah Assad of Rimas Entertainment deserve “all the credit in the world” for masterminding the success.

“What we saw from a numbers perspective was indicative of demand being off the charts”

“In April 2021, when we put El Último Tour del Mundo arena tour on sale, which ultimately started in February of ‘22, what we saw from a numbers perspective were indicative of demand being off the charts,” says Lewis.

“The plan to go on the arena tour, release the album a month after that tour ended and have a stadium tour that would start a couple of months after that was hatched 18 months ago at this point. We’ve just been working toward the execution of it.”

Ticketmaster has apologised, meanwhile, after an “unprecedented” number of fake tickets caused hundreds of fans with legitimate tickets to be denied entry to Friday’s (9 December) opening Mexico City show.

Elsewhere, Sheeran’s 255-show ÷ (Divide) run from 2017-19 remains the highest-grossing tour ever, with revenue of $776.2m. The British singer-songwriter sold more concert tickets this year than any other act, according to Billboard’s end-of-year box office scores, shifting over three million tickets for 63 concerts.

Harry Styles led the way last year as 2021’s top worldwide ticket seller, with the Rolling Stones claiming the highest-grossing tour.

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Live Nation has resumed its acquisition of Ocesa, the third-largest promoter in the world and the parent company of Ticketmaster Mexico.

The US$444 million deal, if completed, would give the world’s largest live entertainment company a 51% stake in one of its largest competitors, which dominates the Latin American market.

The acquisition, which was paused due to the pandemic, is now expected to close by late 2021 or early 2022, subject to regulatory approval.

Live Nation originally agreed to buy 51% of Ocesa for over $400m in summer 2019 but pulled out of the deal in May last year, just a month after Mexican competition regulators approved the deal.

Following the termination of the deal, Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino said that he was “long term, still bullish on [Ocesa’s] business and ours” but that Live Nation was “not looking to take on any losses from Mexico while they’re going through their six or eight months of business downturn”.

“Ocesa will play a pivotal role in putting together many incredible shows in Mexico and the rest of Latin America”

The joint sellers of the stake are the Inter-American Entertainment Corporation (Corporación Interamericana de Entretenimiento, or CIE) and Grupo Televisa, a media giant in the Spanish-speaking world.

Live Nation is reportedly buying a 40% stake in Ocesa from Grupo Televisa, and 11% of the concert promoter from CIE.

CIE will hold on to the remaining 49% minority stake in Ocesa. Live Nation is expected to hold back 7% of the closing price to cover any potential operating losses for several quarters.

“After serving as Live Nation’s touring, festival, and ticketing partner in Mexico for years, we know Ocesa is a stellar business with deep roots in live entertainment in Mexico,” says Michael Rapino, president and CEO, Live Nation Entertainment.

“Alex has built a remarkable company and as we continue to build on the return to live, Ocesa will play a pivotal role in putting together many incredible shows in Mexico and the rest of Latin America.”

“This deal gives us a unique opportunity to continue Ocesa’s 30-year contribution to the development of the Mexican live sector”

Alejandro Soberón Kuri, president and CEO of CIE, added: “We are extremely proud to finally join Live Nation. This is a natural evolution of our long-standing relationship and it gives us a unique opportunity to continue Ocesa’s 30-year contribution to the development of the Mexican live entertainment industry. Additionally, it will help us foster CIE’s commitment to the promotion of Mexican artistic talent abroad.”

Soberón Kuri will serve as CEO and sit on the board of the newly-formed joint venture. Rapino will become chairman of the venture’s board of directors.

Ocesa promotes more than 3,100 events for nearly six million fans annually across Mexico and Colombia and has a robust business portfolio in ticketing, sponsorship, food & beverage, merchandise, and venue operation – including 13 premier venues across Mexico with a collective capacity of nearly 250,000 seats.

Ocesa’s primary ticketing business, Ticketmaster Mexico, is a leading ticket company in Mexico.

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Updated (27 May): Live Nation confirmed in an SEC filing yesterday that the company has terminated its ‘material definitive agreement’ to acquire 51% of Ocesa after being unable to agree revised terms with CIE and Televisa.

“On May 25, 2020, Live Nation notified CIE that it was terminating the CIE purchase agreement as a result of CIE’s failure to comply with its contractual obligation to continue operating the target companies [Ocesa] in the ordinary course of business and the occurrence of a material adverse effect (as that term is defined in the CIE purchase agreement),” reads the 8-K form, dated 25 May, which appears to say CIE and Televisa’s failure to keep Ocesa operating as normal amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is grounds for cancelling the acquisition.

“Live Nation simultaneously notified TV that it was terminating the TV purchase agreement, which agreement may be terminated if the CIE Purchase Agreement is terminated for any reason.

“Live Nation has commenced binding arbitration proceedings, seated in New York, New York, before the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce, seeking a declaratory judgment that it has properly terminated the CIE purchase agreement and that any obligations thereunder are excused on the grounds set forth above, among others.”

CIE, one of two parent companies of leading Mexican promoter Ocesa Entertainment, has told investors that Live Nation’s impending acquisition of Ocesa is no longer going ahead, after the US concert giant exercised “an alleged right to terminate” the agreement, one “with which CIE disagrees”.

Live Nation announced last July it intended to acquire 51% of Ocesa, which also owns Ticketmaster Mexico, from CIE and Televisa Group for a combined US$480 million, with the transaction expected to close by the end of 2019.

According to CIE, on 5 May (two days before Live Nation announced its Q1 2020 results) the parties signed a ‘standstill agreement’ that put the deal on hold; that agreement, reports Televisa, has now expired, with no agreement on terms of the acquisition reached.

CIE “will continue to analyse its alternatives and reserves all of its rights under the agreements executed in connection with [the] transaction and the applicable laws”, according to a notice filed by the company today (26 May) with the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV).

Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino spoke about the deal during the company’s Q1 investor call, saying the company needed to pause the deal; while he is “long term, still bullish on [Ocesa’s] business and ours”, Rapino explained, Live Nation “is not looking to take on any losses from Mexico while they’re going through their six or eight months of business downturn” due to Covid-19, reports MBW.

“We want to delay the cash payment of the deal until we both know how and when we’re on the other side of this crisis,” he added. “So that’s the intent.”

Televisa – which owns 41% of Ocesa compared to CIE’s 11% – said on 7 May it agrees that Live Nation does not have the right to terminate the agreement unilaterally.

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Live Nation is to acquire a majority stake in Ocesa Entertainment, the largest promoter in Latin America and the fifth-biggest by ticket sales globally.

The US concert giant will acquire 51% of Ocesa – which also owns Ticketmaster Mexico – from the Inter-American Entertainment Corporation (Corporación Interamericana de Entretenimiento, CIE), a vertically integrated entertainment group often described as Mexico’s Live Nation equivalent, and Televisa Group, the largest mass media company in the Spanish-speaking world. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year, pending regulatory approval.

Televisa will receive Mex$5.2 billion (US$273 million) for its 40% stake in Ocesa, along with a dividend of $350m (US$18.3m) on or before the deal’s closing, the company says. CIE, meanwhile, is selling an 11% equity stake, valued at $3.6bn (US$190m), and will retain 49% of Ocesa. In total, Live Nation will pay around US$480m for 51% of Ocesa.

Mexico City-based Ocesa placed fifth in Pollstar’s 2018 top 100 promoters chart, with 3.8m tickets sold, behind Live Nation, AEG Presents, Messina Touring Group and Germany’s Semmel Concerts. Meanwhile, Ticketmaster Mexico, which Ocesa has owned since 1991, is “comfortably the country’s biggest ticket seller”, according to the International Ticketing Yearbook 2018, and now claims 37m tickets sold annually.

Ocesa promotes around 3,100 shows every year, and also has interests in sponsorship, merchandise and food and beverage, while its 14 venues across Mexico have a collective capacity of 250,000. Live Nation is to also acquire an interest in Ocesa Seitrack, OCESA’s booking and artist management agency, CREA, a special and corporate event organiser, and Citibanamex Centre, an exhibition and convention venue in Mexico City.

“This next step is a logical extension for both our teams”

“We are extremely proud to join Live Nation,” says Alejandro Soberón Kuri, president and CEO of CIE. “This evolution of our long-standing relationship with Live Nation gives us a unique opportunity to continue Ocesa’s 30-year contribution to the development of the Mexican live entertainment industry. In addition, this will further foster CIE´s commitment to the promotion of Mexican artistic talent abroad.”

By IQ’s calculation, Ocesa is Live Nation’s 15th acquisition or equivalent of 2019, following Singapore’s One Production in January, Canada’s Embrace Presents, Spain’s Planet Events, Tennessee’s Neste Event Marketing, Finland’s Blockfest, Norway’s Tons of Rock and Australia’s Moshtix (through Ticketmaster) in February, Belgium’s Antwerps Sportpaleis and New England’s Levitate in April, Denmark’s PHD Music and Los Angeles-based Spaceland Presents in May, Poland’s Go Ahead and Superfly’s share of Bonnaroo in June, and IMM’s stake in Rock in Rio earlier this month.

“Ocesa has been Live Nation’s touring, festival and ticketing partner in Mexico for years, and I admire the business Alex has built,” says Michael Rapino, president and CEO of Live Nation. “This next step is a logical extension for both our teams, and we look forward to working on many more shows together.”

Soberón Kuri will serve as CEO and sit on the board of the newly-formed joint venture, while Rapino will become chairman of its board of directors.

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