Which band battled Ticketmaster and canceled their tour in 1994?

When the Department of Justice sued Live Nation/Ticketmaster earlier this year, it felt like déjà vu for music fans of a certain age. Long before Taylor Swift's ticket meltdown or Bruce Springsteen's $5000 seats, one band dared to take on the ticketing giant – and paid a hefty price for their principles. Do you remember which '90s band chose to cancel an entire tour rather than play Ticketmaster's game?

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The answer is: Pearl Jam

Here's a math problem that stumped Pearl Jam: How do you sell concert tickets for $18 when the middleman demands service charges up to 30%? America's best-selling band at the time brought that question to Congress in 1994, sparked by a concern around Ticketmaster's business practices and how it affected their teenage fans.

The band explained they weren't against making money – they just remembered what it was like not having much of it. In a prepared statement to a House subcommittee, members bassist Jeff Ament and guitarist Stone Gossard detailed a pattern of aggression and retaliation.

For example, when Pearl Jam tried distributing tickets to a free charity show in Seattle, Ticketmaster demanded $1.50 per ticket – $45,000 total – to handle a free concert. In Chicago, Ticketmaster initially agreed to clearly disclose their service charges, then threatened to back out just as tickets were going on sale. In Detroit, Pearl Jam testified that Ticketmaster threatened to sue a promoter and disabled their ticket machines when the band tried using alternative distribution methods.

They went on to explain how Ticketmaster maintained its dominance: exclusive contracts with virtually every major venue and promoter in America. Ben Liss of the North American Concert Promoters Association had warned promoters in writing that Ticketmaster would "aggressively enforce their contracts" and expected loyalty. Probably worth noting that this same Ben Liss was formerly the CEO of Ticketron when it was sold to... Ticketmaster. At the time, he claimed the combined company would result in lower fees (lol).

Pearl Jam tried working with local promoters and upstart ticketing companies like ETM Entertainment Network. But even in the '90s, Ticketmaster's grip on the concert industry proved too tight. Exclusive contracts made it impossible to book major venues without playing by their rules. The result was a band in decline, with only a smattering of North America tour dates at a time they could've been selling out arenas. By 1998 the cost to the band and the fans was too great, and Pearl Jam agreed to work with the ticketing giant.

Thirty years later, Pearl Jam's arch nemesis has only expanded its domain through its merger with Live Nation. When today's artists and fans rage about ticket prices and venue control, they're discovering the same problems Pearl Jam spotted in their testimony – just with more zeros on the price tag.