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Ticket and events group Eventim is the market leader in Germany. BR– Research showing how the company bypassed the cartel office to expand its market position.
See Seeed, Scooter, Max Herre, Nura, Patrice and many others on the homepage of the new All Artists Agency in summer 2020. There they said they provided “full and comprehensive support” for national and international actions.
The company may be new to the market, but it has plenty of experience: ticketing and events organization CTS Eventim has joined, and many of the staff previously worked at another agency, Four Artists Booking (FAB).
What makes it special: In 2017, Eventim wants to take over four artists. This is prohibited by the Federal Cartel Office. Even so, Eventim still holds a 51 percent stake in All Artists Agency — some of the top four artist staff have changed.
“Fantastic Four” ticket booking agency
Four Artists Agency was founded in 1997 by members of the hip-hop band “Die Fantastischen Vier” and two other partners. The institution represents approximately 300 national and international artists.
In March 2017, the CTS Eventim Group issued a press release. A subsidiary of the group took over most of the ticket agents and promoters of the “Four Artists”. A few lines later there is a note: “Completion of the transaction is still subject to approval by the responsible antitrust authorities.”
cartel office building
The Federal Cartel Office will never grant this approval. “[Das] Notified consolidated items are prohibited,” the authority said in its reasons. “CTS has a dominant position in both the travel agency end and the pre-sale end of the national ticketing system service market. The acquisition of the four artists would result in a “significant impediment to competition”. The cartel office wrote in a report that the company would gain control of “an additional fleet of relevant tickets” that would allow it to “continue to expand its market position”.
Smudo from the Fantastic Four made serious allegations against Eventim.
“The deal is gone,” says Michael Bernd Schmidt, better known as “Smudo” from “Fantastic Four” BR-Interview: “We couldn’t sign with Eventim and stay independent.” Then came the fall of 2019.
First, the general manager of the group of four resigned, and within a few days, 27 of the 45 employees resigned.That’s from prosecutors’ investigative documents BR research can see. They started working at the All Artists Agency.
Criminal investigation: infidelity allegations
In the process, criminal proceedings were filed with the Berlin Public Prosecutor’s Office on charges of breach of trust and violation of trade secrets. Former employees of four artists and others, including Eventim CEO Klaus-Peter Schulenberg, have been charged.
The Berlin Public Prosecutor’s Office investigated and terminated the proceedings in April 2021 because “according to the investigations carried out, the accused were not suspected sufficiently”.This was confirmed in a letter by the Berlin Prosecutor General BR exhibit. However, it also says:
“In fact, it can be seen from the outside that CTS Eventim Group actually relocated part of the company to the […] All Artists Agency happened. “
The Commonwealth Cartel Office will investigate circumvention issues and the Attorney General continues to defend it.
Smudo: Collusion?
Michael Bernd Schmidt (alias Smudo) suspects a secret agreement behind these events.inside BR-In an interview, he said: “Within three months, the whole store went into a new store opened by someone the antitrust authorities told not to do.”
Eventim answers a series of questions BR no. Other parties involved in the proceedings emphasized that there was no secrecy agreement and that the prosecutor’s office found no crimes.
Cartel office: Order ‘broken a bit’
Bundeskartellamt wrote on request: “The impact of the ban is indeed regrettable for the competition. […] Obviously it could be weakened a bit. ”
Andreas Mundt, chairman of the Bundeskartellamt, at BR– Interviews are “annoying”. “This is a fact that is ultimately not covered by antitrust and competition laws,” he noted. There is no need to register a new company. “That’s not something we can verify.”
Eventim: A Force in the Live Streaming Market
CTS Eventim Group is active in the events business as a ticket reseller, organizer and operator of large event venues. Experts see signs of “vertical market integration” as Eventim is able to add value in many areas of live entertainment.
In 2017, the Federal Cartel Office determined: “60% – 70% of all tickets sold via ticketing systems in Germany are distributed via the CTS Eventim system.” According to Mundt, Chairman of the Cartel Office, it can be said that “Eventim very strong, and in some cases dominant, positions in the markets in which it is active.”
“Game Central Moment”
“Competition is a central element of a social market economy,” emphasizes Reinhard Houben (FDP), member of the German Bundestag.If the company has vertical market integration, as is the case with Eventims, then “this is actually a classic example of why we invented the cartel office have. “
FDP politician Houben believes the Eventim case will disrupt competition.
new competition law – A new lever for the cartel office?
Earlier this year, the Federal Cabinet agreed to amend the Anti-Restriction of Competition Act (GWB). It aims to give broader powers to the federal cartel office. The first reading takes place in the Bundestag on 26 May 2023.
Antitrust professor Rupprecht Podszun explained that previously “abuse of market power” was an obstacle to intervention by cartel offices, in the future “disruption of competition” should be enough to initiate an investigation and be able to order any measures Heinrich Heine Düsseldorf University Master of Laws. According to Podszun, the amendment may allow cartel offices to conduct industry investigations in the live market. Because: Podszun dem said: “Eventim has strength and therefore has the potential to put pressure on other markets, which is rare in the market” BR.
“Our company was stolen”
Musician Smudo firmly believes: “Our company has been stolen”. He estimated the economic damage at 22 million euros. Against this background, civil proceedings are still pending in Berlin.