The Department of Justice is expected to sue Live Nation today over antitrust violations as the company faces scrutiny after a string of controversies, including preventing millions of fans from purchasing tickets to Taylor Swift’s Eras tour

It has emerged that Live Nation Entertainment will be hit with an antitrust lawsuit today over Ticketmaster’s dominance in concert ticket sales.

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) and a group of states are expected to file a lawsuit against the entertainment giant today, potentially seeking a breakup, in federal court in New York.

The lawsuit is expected to allege that Live Nation’s 2010 merger with Ticketmaster “eliminated competition” and “diluted customer choice,” which in turn caused concert ticket prices to increase, a source told CBS News.

Concert-goers and politicians alike have called for the Live Nation and Ticketmaster merger to be reconsidered, especially after ticket sales for the US leg of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour failed.

The legal action also highlights the aggressive approach that President Joe Biden’s antitrust enforcers have taken in trying to create more competition in a wide variety of industries, from Big Tech to health care to grocery.

The U.S. Department of Justice and a group of states today intend to sue Live Nation Entertainment over antitrust violations, potentially seeking a breakup

Concert fans and politicians have been calling for years to reconsider the 2010 merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster, especially after ticket sales for the US leg of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour failed. Pictured: Fans attend the Eras Tour at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles in 2023

Live Nation has come under fire in 2022 after Ticketmaster improperly sold tickets to Swift’s 2023 tour.

Ticketmaster was overwhelmed, canceled some sales plans and sent potential buyers to online queues for up to eight hours.

Some Swifties – a term used to describe the singer’s fans – claimed Ticketmaster repeatedly dropped them while they waited to purchase.

The site has complained about being targeted by bots and scalpers, but concert-goers have also complained about high prices and poor service.

The Department of Justice then launched an investigation into the company, allegedly focusing on whether Live Nation had a monopoly on the ticketing industry.

Investigators contacted music venues and other members of the industry to learn more about the company’s operating methods.

Last year, during a hearing called after the ticket sales fiasco, U.S. senators sharply criticized Live Nation’s lack of transparency and inability to block bots from purchasing tickets.

In the lawsuit, expected to be filed today in the Southern District of New York, the Justice Department has options ranging from requiring Live Nation to stop its illegal conduct, a common request, to asking a court to resolve the case, which is rare.

Live Nation came under fire in 2022 after Ticketmaster improperly sold tickets for Swift’s 2023 tour. Ticketmaster was overwhelmed, canceled some sales plans and sent potential buyers to online queues for up to eight hours

After the Eras Tour ticket sales fiasco, Ticketmaster complained that it had been targeted by bots and scalpers, but concert-goers also complained about high prices and poor service. Taylor Swift is pictured performing in Stockholm, Sweden this past weekend during the European leg of her tour

Following the botched ticket sales for the Eras Tour in November 2022, Swift slammed Ticketmaster for the chaos.

She claimed it had been “assured” the company would be able to meet high demand “many times over”, and said it was “tiring” to “see mistakes being made with no way out”.

“It goes without saying that I am extremely protective of my fans,” she wrote in a lengthy post on her Instagram stories. “We’ve been doing this together for decades, and I’ve brought a lot of elements of my career home over the years.”

She told how she decided to use Ticketmaster’s verified fan system, which aims to deter bots, because she felt it would “improve the quality” of purchases and get tickets into the hands of real fans.

“I’m not going to make excuses for anyone because we asked them repeatedly if they would be able to meet these kinds of demands and they assured us they would,” Swift said at the time.

“It’s truly amazing that 2.4 million people got tickets, but what really pisses me off is that many of them feel like they went through several bear attacks to get them.”

Following the botched ticket sales in November 2022, Swift slammed Ticketmaster for the chaos, saying she was “confident” the company could meet high demand “many times over” and calling it “terrible” to “watch mistakes being made with no way out.”

Thursday’s lawsuit comes after the Justice Department approved Ticketmaster’s controversial 2010 merger with Live Nation, setting conditions intended to keep the combined company from harming competition.

In 2020, the court extended most of its oversight of the merger through 2025 because, the department said, Ticketmaster retaliated against stadiums and arenas that chose to use other ticketing companies.

Live Nation did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s request for comment, but has said in the past that it is confident its business practices are legal and that the investigation was prompted by complaints from competitors, including resellers.

Live Nation shares fell 7 percent in after-hours trading.

The Department of Justice was also contacted for comment.