The US Department of Justice is suing Live Nation over market surveillance

The lawsuit accuses Live Nation of violating the Sherman Antitrust Act through exclusive contracts, acquiring competitors and intimidating venues.

Photo credit: Nainoa Shizuru on Unsplash

Living Nation, Ticket owner the parent company is threatened with a lawsuit from the parent company United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and 30 states for alleged market monopoly. The lawsuit alleges Living Nation for infringement Sherman Antitrust Actwhich prohibits monopolization and anti-competitive agreements. Living Nation owns 250 facilities, manages approximately 60% of concert promotions in the most important facilities and handles approximately 80% of ticket sales for the most important events.

Attorney General Merrick Garland claims LiveNation industry dominance comes from illegal activities such as exclusivity contracts, soliciting potential competitors, and intimidating venues with competing ticketing platforms. These activities, in my opinion Garlandthey eliminated smaller promoters and reduced artists’ opportunities to perform.

Living Nation denies these allegations, arguing that its market share is decreasing and that its modest profit margin of 1.4% does not indicate a monopoly position. The company also believes the lawsuit will not address major fan concerns, such as ticket prices and access to high-demand programming.

Attorney General Garland the full speech is available at CNBC. You can watch it below.