Live Nation Faces Antitrust Lawsuit Over Monopoly Allegations

The US government and several states took legal action against Live Nation in a significant antitrust case on Thursday. They claim that the parent company of Ticketmaster has been using its dominant position in the industry to harm concert attendees across the country.

The lawsuit, which was anticipated for a while, was filed in New York by the Justice Department and 30 state and district attorneys general. It challenges the largest ticketing website and concert promoter in the country, accusing them of orchestrating a scheme to limit competition. The governments are pushing for a jury trial and the division of the company. This request for a jury trial is uncommon, as recent antitrust cases have typically been decided by a judge due to their complexity and length.

If the case is successful, it could bring major changes to the live events market. In 2022, Ticketmaster faced issues that prevented millions of fans from buying tickets for Taylor Swift's "Eras" tour, sparking widespread criticism.

Critics of Live Nation believe that the Swift incident highlighted the negative impact of limited competition in the industry. This has led to various issues such as poor customer service, confusing pricing, high ticketing fees, and restrictions on ticket resales. Many consumers feel this adds up to a frustrating experience, often described as facing multiple problems at once.

Prosecutors claim that Live Nation aimed to dominate the ticketing and live events industry by making exclusive deals with the largest venues in the country. This ensured that all future events at these venues would be ticketed through Live Nation’s platform.

Attorney General Merrick Garland stated, “We believe that Live Nation engages in illegal, anti-competitive practices to maintain its monopoly over the live events industry in the United States. This comes at the expense of fans, artists, smaller promoters, and venue operators. Fans end up paying higher fees, artists have fewer opportunities to perform, smaller promoters are pushed out, and venues have limited choices for ticketing services. It is time to dismantle Live Nation-Ticketmaster.”

Live Nation dismissed the DOJ's allegations as "baseless" in a statement.

In response to the lawsuit, Live Nation stated, "The DOJ’s legal action will not address the concerns that fans have regarding ticket prices, service fees, and the availability of popular shows. While the DOJ may see labeling Ticketmaster as a monopoly as a public relations victory for now, it will not hold up in court due to the lack of understanding of the fundamental economics of live entertainment."

Shares of Live Nation (LYV) fell 5% on the news.

Bad blood

Musicians have also voiced concerns about Live Nation's tightly integrated operation. The company combines event ticketing services with control of around 200 popular venues in the US. Critics argue that this linkage enables Live Nation to dictate terms and fees to artists.

In 2022, Taylor Swift responded to the Ticketmaster controversy that upset her fans. She took to Instagram to express her frustration, calling the situation "excruciating" for her and stating that it "pisses me off."

The company has had conflicts with other artists as well. The Cure front man Robert Smith criticized Ticketmaster's fees, while country singer Zach Bryan expressed his dislike for the company by releasing a live collection titled "All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster (Live at Red Rocks)" in 2022.

The merger has not been well-received by many.

The US government is now taking a stand against Live Nation's economic power for the first time since the company merged with Ticketmaster in 2010. Back then, regulators decided to tolerate the merger instead of blocking it, but they did impose certain obligations on the company to prevent potential harms.

The lawsuit against Live Nation is likely to receive support from antitrust advocates who had concerns about the merger from the beginning. Some of the critics of the deal include US lawmakers such as Democratic Senators Amy Klobuchar from Minnesota and Richard Blumenthal from Connecticut. As early as 2019, they were urging the Justice Department to investigate Live Nation for not fulfilling its commitments. In addition, Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz from Texas, along with several others, have introduced various bills to regulate the ticketing industry.

The lawsuit points out that regulators now believe the behavioral changes Live Nation agreed to over a decade ago have not been successful. This aligns with a broader effort by the Biden administration to increase antitrust enforcement in all sectors of the economy, citing years of weak enforcement for a rise in mergers and a decrease in consumer influence.

As per the lawsuit, Live Nation manages over 400 artists directly, dominates about 60% of concert promotions at major venues nationwide, and owns more than 265 concert venues in North America. Additionally, the lawsuit states that through Ticketmaster, Live Nation controls approximately 80% or more of primary concert ticketing at major venues.

Fans looking to save money may have to wait a while, as the legal process for the lawsuit could take several years. This means that the high fees they are familiar with are unlikely to see significant changes anytime soon.

The lawsuit filed on Thursday involves a long list of states and districts. According to the court docket in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, the participants include Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and the District of Columbia.

New York Attorney General Letitia James stated that Live Nation and Ticketmaster have been unfairly dominating the live events industry by overcharging fans, bullying venues, and restricting artists. Everyone agrees that they are the problem and a new era is needed. This is a developing story and will be updated.

CNN’s Alison Main and Maria Awad contributed to this report.

Editor's P/S:

The antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation is a significant development in the fight against corporate monopolies. The company's dominance in the live events industry has allowed it to