The US Justice Department, along with 30 state and district attorneys general, have filed an antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation, alleging that its Ticketmaster brand has unlawfully maintained monopolies in several markets.
The DOJ’s complaint states that Live Nation’s operations, including ticket sales, promotion, artist management, and venue ownership, thwart competition in the live entertainment industry. The suit seeks structural relief and to restore competition in the market so consumers can find “better choices at lower prices” and venues can be opened to working musicians and additional performers.
In a statement, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said, “Live Nation relies on unlawful, anticompetitive conduct to exercise its monopolistic control over the live events industry in the United States at the cost of fans, artists, smaller promoters, and venue operators.” According to the filing, Ticketmaster allegedly utilizes revenue from concerts and sponsorships to lock artists in exclusive promotional deals and then signs venues into exclusive ticketing partnerships by leveraging its strong lineup of live content.
Garland added that, as a result, “fans pay more in fees, artists have fewer opportunities to play concerts, smaller promoters get squeezed out, and venues have fewer real choices for ticketing services.”
Live Nation, which generates over $22 billion USD globally in annual revenue, presently owns or operates more than 265 performance venues in North America, per the lawsuit. Those include 60 of the region’s 100 best amphitheaters.
“The live music industry in America is broken because Live Nation-Ticketmaster has an illegal monopoly,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Our antitrust lawsuit seeks to break up Live Nation-Ticketmaster’s monopoly and restore competition for the benefit of fans and artists.”
The US is requesting a jury for the trial, as per the states parties’ laws. California, Colorado, Florida and Texas are on the complaint as the lawsuit’s bipartisan states. See the full complaint here.
