Live Nation is a monopoly, AEG CEO says in a memo related to the Justice Department’s antitrust lawsuit

President of AEG Jay Marciano claims that Live Nation is behaving like a monopoly and is acquiescing in the U.S. Department of Justice’s efforts to break up the concert giant and Ticketmaster, according to an email Marciano sent to employees on Friday (May 31). In the memo, the executive accuses the company of “preventing other companies from competing” and “leaving consumers with the consequences.”

In a two-page email, Marciano said the lawsuit was an important milestone in resolving alleged monopolistic behavior in the concert industry, noting that “the entire ecosystem of our industry” is at stake as the case winds its way through the U.S. legal system.

“Despite its claims of profit margins or market share, it is a monopoly and uses its monopoly power to impose its will on the live entertainment industry,” Live Nation’s Marciano wrote, later writing: “We strongly believe that the Department of Justice lawsuit will be successful and will ultimately bring about profound changes.

Billboard We have received a copy of the email, which you can read in full below. An AEG spokesman did not respond to a request for comment on the letter. Live Nation did not respond to a request for comment at press time.

From: Jay Marciano’s office

No doubt you’ve all been following media reports closely in the wake of the Department of Justice’s lawsuit against Live Nation and Ticketmaster. As I mentioned in last week’s note, we have spent the last few days carefully reviewing the request to the Department of Justice, as well as Live Nation’s subsequent response to the complaint.

AEG has long argued that Ticketmaster has a monopoly in the U.S. ticketing market and uses that monopoly power to subsidize Live Nation’s content business, preventing other companies from competing in those areas and leaving consequences for consumers. This lawsuit is not simply a Department of Justice lawsuit to break up a monopoly; At stake is the entire ecosystem of our industry, which has long suffered from a deeply broken ticketing model. As is known, the basis of Live Nation’s monopoly are Ticketmaster’s exclusive ticket sales agreements with most major concert halls in the United States. These agreements block competition and innovation and result in higher ticket prices, depriving artists of the ability to choose who tickets their performances and how much fans pay.

Following its filing with the Department of Justice, Live Nation has issued several public comments in support of its ongoing strategy to maintain its dominance – unfairly blaming others for the industry problems they have caused, making false and misleading statements, and downplaying the importance of the case. Artists, venues and brokers are not responsible for the broken live entertainment business model in this country – that responsibility lies with Live Nation. Regardless of its claims regarding profit margin or market share, it is a monopoly and uses its monopoly power to impose its will on the live entertainment industry. Live Nation may claim that its promotional margins are low, but that’s only because it uses excess profits from its monopoly on ticket sales to spend more than what the concert market can profitably sustain. Live Nation does this to put competitors out of business and, in turn, use its continued control over content to maintain control over ticket sales at its exclusive properties.

The Justice Department’s case is serious and reflects the widespread belief of 30 attorneys general across the country, numerous media outlets, industry commentators, consumer groups and antitrust experts that Live Nation’s conduct violates the law and harms competition and consumers. While it may take some time, we firmly believe that the Department of Justice’s lawsuit will be successful and will ultimately bring sweeping changes resulting in increased competition and greater innovation and choice, to the benefit of fans, artists and our employees.
the entire industry. The Department of Justice lawsuit means that artists will have a choice in who buys tickets to their concerts, that ticket fees for consumers will be lower, and that ultimately artists and fans will have access to what we all want: more entertainment on higher quality live shows at an affordable price that fans can afford. We can’t wait for each of you to help us lay the foundations for the future of the industry.

Let’s not get distracted by the virtuosos of Live Nation. Instead, let’s focus on continuing to perform at the highest level and prepare for the future state of the industry: a world with more competition, more innovation, artist and consumer choice, lower ticket prices and more music.
Jay