Department of Justice Files Antitrust Lawsuit Against Live Nation

The Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit Thursday against Ticketmaster’s parent company Live Nation, alleging an illegal monopoly on live events.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Manhattan and joined by 29 states and the District of Columbia, alleges that the company’s practices stifle competition and raise prices for fans.

“We allege that Live Nation has illegally monopolized the concert industry markets in the United States for too long,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said at a news conference Thursday. “It’s time to break it up.”

The lawsuit is the culmination of an investigation into the company that began in 2022. The ticketing giant faced serious scrutiny after the botched pre-sale of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour this year sparked widespread outrage and hearings on Capitol Hill.

“In recent years, Live Nation-Ticketmaster’s exorbitant fees and technological failures have been criticized by artists and fans alike,” Garland said. “But we are not here today because Live Nation-Ticketmaster’s behavior is inconvenient or frustrating. We are here because we argue that such conduct is anti-competitive and illegal.”

Garland said the complaint “clearly explains what happens when a monopolist devotes its resources to consolidating its monopoly power and isolating itself from competition, rather than investing in better products and services.”

The attorney general said that Live Nation has “become ubiquitous in the live ticket industry,” detailing that the company controls approximately 80% of headline ticket sales at major concert venues, owns more than 60% of major U.S. amphitheaters, controls more than concerts throughout the country and directly manages over 400 artists.

“We allege that, to maintain this dominance, Live Nation relies on unlawful, anti-competitive conduct to exercise its monopoly control over the live events industry in the United States and over the fans, artists, independent promoters and venues that power this industry.” Garland said. . “As a result, fans pay more in fees, artists have fewer opportunities to play shows, smaller promoters are squeezed out, and venues have fewer real choices in ticketing services.”

He then accused the company of blocking competition by using long-term exclusive ticketing agreements with venues, which Garland said “can last for more than a decade,” and by purchasing venues. Exclusive deals, Garland said, cover 70% of ticket sales at major venues nationwide, which he said allows Ticketmaster to “impose a seemingly endless list of fees on fans,” including fares labeled “ticket sales,” “service” and “convenience.” “. among others.

Live Nation has denied monopolistic practices. In a statement Thursday, the company said it is “absurd” to claim it has monopoly power, charging that the Biden administration has chosen to “hand over antitrust enforcement to a populist desire that simply rejects how antitrust law works.”

“Some call it ‘antitrust,’ but in reality it is simply antibusiness,” the company said, later claiming that the lawsuit attempted “to portray Live Nation and Ticketmaster as the cause of fan frustration with the live entertainment industry.”

“It blames the high ticket prices on concert organizers and ticket selling companies – neither of them controls ticket prices,” reads the company’s statement. “It ignores everything that is actually responsible for higher ticket prices, from rising production costs to the popularity of artists to the 24/7 online ticket scalping that exposes the public’s willingness to pay much more than the original cost. He blames Live Nation and Ticketmaster for high service fees, but ignores the fact that Ticketmaster only keeps a modest portion of those fees. In fact, primary ticket sales are one of the cheapest digital distributions in the economy.”

“The hallmark of a monopolist is monopoly profits derived from monopoly prices,” the statement continues. “Live Nation does not fit this profile in any way. Ticketmaster fees are no higher than elsewhere, and often lower. Even taking into account sponsorships, advertising companies that help keep ticket prices low, the company’s overall net profit margin is low at the end of profitable S&P 500 companies.

This is the latest aggressive antitrust enforcement lawsuit launched since President Joe Biden took office in 2021. The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Apple in March, accusing the tech giant of creating an illegal monopoly on smartphones through the so-called “walled garden”. ecosystem.