The Justice Department plans to take antitrust action against Ticketmaster’s parent company, Live Nation

The Justice Department will file an antitrust lawsuit against entertainment conglomerate Live Nation on Thursday, multiple sources familiar with the matter confirmed to CBS News.

Several attorneys general will join the federal government in the legal fight. Prosecutors are expected to question the practices of Ticketmaster’s parent company and may try to force a change in the way the company does business, sources said. In many cases, when the Justice Department sues over antitrust issues, it tries to get a judge to force a divestment of a company or change the way it operates.

The Justice Department declined to comment. Live Nation did not respond to a request for comment from CBS News.

The antitrust action was first reported by the Washington Post.

This decision follows a multi-year investigation by the Department of Justice’s antitrust division. In 2022, CBS News confirmed that the Department of Justice was already investigating the company and its Ticketmaster unit before its disastrous mishandling of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour ticket sales.

In November 2022 on Ticketmaster it crashed during the pre-sale period for the Eras Tour, sparking outrage among fans who waited hours for tickets only to be disappointed.

The department’s investigation focused on whether Live Nation abused its dominant position in the ticket sales market.

According to The New York Times, which first reported on the investigation, the Justice Department’s antitrust division contacted music venues and ticketing industry participants to learn more about Live Nation’s methods, focusing on whether the company had a monopoly on the industry.

During a January 2023 Senate hearing, artists testified about the impact Live Nation had on them. Clyde Lawrence of the band Lawrence testified that Live Nation’s strength is that it is a promoter, venue and ticketing company.

“Because Live Nation owns the venue, makes money for the show and sells the tickets, it has enormous power in negotiations with artists,” he told the panel, giving an example: For one show, Lawrence suggested a fixed ticket price of $30. After Ticketmaster added a 40% fee, fans were paying $42 per ticket. After paying fees, the band earned $12 per ticket, about half of which went to cover tour costs.

“That gives us $6 for an eight-person team – before taxes – and we also have to pay for our own health insurance,” Lawrence said.

Well before Ticketmaster merged with Live Nation in 2010, Pearl Jam filed a similar complaint against Ticketmaster with Congress in 1994, maintaining that the ticketing company’s exclusive contract with most premiere venues in the country left artists and fans with little or no choice in purchasing and ticket sale.

Pearl Jam tried to tour in venues not controlled by Ticketmaster, but to no avail. The band also sued Ticketmaster, but ultimately lost the battle. Also a group of ticket buyers unsuccessfully sued Ticketmaster The Associated Press noted that in the 1990s it claimed the company monopolized ticket sales.

Clare Hymes and Irina Ivanova contributed to this report.