Live Nation, Ticketmaster’s parent company, sued in groundbreaking monopoly lawsuit

The US government sued Live Nation in a groundbreaking antitrust lawsuit on Thursday, alleging that for years the parent company of Ticketmaster abused its industry dominance to harm concertgoers nationwide.

The US government and dozens of states sued Live Nation in a groundbreaking antitrust lawsuit on Thursday, alleging that for years the parent company of Ticketmaster abused its industry dominance to harm concertgoers nationwide. The long-expected lawsuit, filed in New York by the Justice Department and 30 state and district attorneys general, challenges the country’s biggest ticketing website and concert promoter, which regulators allege was the mastermind of a plan to stifle competition. The governments are seeking a jury trial and a breakup of the company. If successful, the case could lead to sweeping changes in the market for live events – an industry that came under intense scrutiny in 2022 after glitches at Ticketmaster blocked millions from purchasing tickets for Taylor Swift’s “Eras” tour. For many critics of Live Nation, the Swift debacle revealed how a lack of competition has led to harms ranging from poor customer service to confusing pricing to expensive ticketing fees to restrictions on ticket resales — amounting to what many consumers complain of as death by a thousand cuts. Prosecutors allege that Live Nation’s end game was to monopolize the ticketing and live events industry by cutting exclusive deals with the country’s largest venues, ensuring that all their future events were ticketed through the company’s platform. “We allege that Live Nation relies on unlawful, anticompetitive conduct to exercise its monopolistic control over the live events industry in the United States at the cost of fans, artists, smaller promoters, and venue operators,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland in a statement. “The result is that fans pay more in fees, artists have fewer opportunities to play concerts, smaller promoters get squeezed out, and venues have fewer real choices for ticketing services. It is time to break up Live Nation-Ticketmaster.”