The US Department of Justice, in collaboration with a group of states, plans to take legal action against Live Nation Entertainment, the owner of Ticketmaster.
The charge involves maintaining an illegal monopoly in the live entertainment industry, according to three people familiar with the case.
See also: Apple: Fined for EU antitrust violations
The government plans to support the lawsuit, which alleges that Live Nation has built its power through Ticketmaster’s exclusive ticketing contracts with concert venues, as well as its dominance in concert tours and other businesses such as venue management, according to two people who asked not to be named because the lawsuit is still private. That has allowed the company to maintain monopoly , raising prices and fees for consumers, stifling innovation in the ticketing industry and harming competition, the people said.
The government will argue that tours promoted by the company were more likely to take place at venues where Ticketmaster was the exclusive ticketing service, one of the sources said. In addition, Live Nation artists more often played at company-owned venues.
Live Nation is a giant in the concert world, profoundly impacting the lives of musicians and fans. Its scale and reach far exceed those of any competitor, spanning concert promotion, ticketing , artist management and the operation of hundreds of venues and festivals worldwide.
The Ticketmaster division sells 600 million tickets to events worldwide annually. By some estimates, it handles ticketing for 70% to 80% of major concert venues in the United States.
Lawmakers, supporters and competitors have accused the company of practices that hurt rivals and raise ticket prices and fees. In a congressional hearing early last year, sparked by a pre-sale of tickets for Taylor Swift through Ticketmaster that left millions of people unable to buy tickets, senators from both parties called Live Nation a monopoly.
The company denied any responsibility for the high prices and fees, claiming that these are determined by the artists and other factors, such as large venues.
A spokeswoman for the Justice Department and a spokeswoman for Live Nation declined to comment. Bloomberg News reported that the lawsuit is expected soon. Two people familiar with the matter said the lawsuit will be filed in the Southern District of New York.
In recent years, U.S. regulators have filed lawsuits against big companies, testing a century of antitrust laws against the growing power that big business over consumers. In March, the Justice Department sued Apple, alleging that the company makes it difficult for customers to switch products. It has already filed two cases against Google, alleging that it violated antitrust laws. Last year, the Federal Trade Commission brought an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon for harming sellers on its platform, and it is also pursuing Meta, in part because of its acquisitions of Instagram, Facebook , and WhatsApp.
Read also: Dolce & Gabbana customer sues the company
The Justice Department allowed Live Nation, the world’s largest concert promoter, to acquire Ticketmaster in 2010, under certain conditions set out in a legal agreement. For example, if venues didn’t use Ticketmaster, Live Nation couldn’t threaten to cancel tours.
In 2019, however, the Department of Justice found that Live Nation had violated these terms and amended and expanded the agreement.
The Justice Department's latest investigation into Live Nation began in 2022. Live Nation has stepped up its lobbying efforts, spending $2.4 million on federal lobbying in 2023, compared to $1.1 million in 2022, according to data from the nonpartisan website OpenSecrets.
In April, the company co-hosted a lavish party in Washington for the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. The party included a performance by country singer Jelly Roll and cocktails with napkins that touted Live Nation’s positive impact on the economy, such as the billions it claims to pay artists.
Under pressure from the White House, Live Nation announced in June that it would begin displaying prices for shows at its own venues, including all charges, including surcharges. The Federal Trade Commission has proposed a rule that would prohibit hidden fees.
See more: TikTok creators: Lawsuit against US government over potential ban
Former commission chairman Bill Kovacic said Wednesday that the lawsuit against the company would be a rebuke to previous competition officials who allowed the company to reach its current size.
Source: nytimes
