The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a sweeping antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation Entertainment, accusing them of running an illegal monopoly and inflating ticket prices for concerts, shows and other events.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in U.S. federal court in Manhattan, was filed with 30 state and district attorneys general and seeks to break the monopoly that they say is driving out smaller promoters and hurting artists.
“The live music industry in the United States is broken because Live Nation-Ticketmaster has an illegal monopoly,” Deputy Attorney General Jonathan Kanter said in a statement.
“Our antitrust lawsuit seeks to break Live Nation-Ticketmaster's monopoly and restore competition to the benefit of fans and artists.”
For years, concert fans and politicians in the US have been calling for Live Nation's 2010 purchase of Ticketmaster to be re-examined.
The situation attracted widespread attention in 2022 after the ticket seller ruined sales for Taylor Swift's first concert tour in years, sending fans into hours-long online queues, charging prices that customers considered too high and generating charges for bad service.
The debacle prompted hearings in Congress and bills in state legislatures across the United States aimed at better protecting consumers.
On Thursday, the Justice Department accused Live Nation of a series of practices that allow it to maintain dominance over the live music scene.
These include using long-term contracts to prevent venues from choosing rivals, preventing venues from using multiple ticket sellers and threatening venues that they could lose money and fans if they don't choose Ticketmaster, according to the department.
The Justice Department also accused Live Nation of threatening to retaliate against a company if it did not prevent an affiliate from competing for artist promotion contracts.
“The Department of Justice filed this lawsuit on behalf of fans who should be able to go to concerts without a monopoly standing in their way,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said during a news conference Thursday. tomorrow.
“We have filed this lawsuit on behalf of artists who should be able to plan their tours around their fans and not be dictated to by an illegal monopoly,” Garland said.
“We have filed this lawsuit on behalf of independent promoters and venues, who should be able to compete on a level playing field.”
Live Nation denies the allegations
Live Nation has denied engaging in practices that violate antitrust laws.
When the company was reported to be under federal investigation in 2022, the concert promoter said in a statement that Ticketmaster enjoys such a large market share because of “the large gap that exists between the quality of the Ticketmaster system and the next best.” . primary ticketing system.
Live Nation called the lawsuit a potential “PR victory for the [Justice Department] in the short term,” but said the entertainment company would prevail in court.
“[The lawsuit] “It will not solve the issues that concern fans regarding ticket prices, service fees and access to on-demand shows,” he said, adding that “there is more competition than ever in the live events market.” “.
Thursday's lawsuit comes as U.S. President Joe Biden's antitrust authorities have taken an aggressive approach as they seek to create more competition in a wide range of industries, from Big Tech to health care and food.
In March, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Apple alleging that the tech giant has monopoly power in the smartphone market.
The Department of Justice is doing the right thing. It's time to separate Live Nation/Ticketmaster. Hidden fees, poor service, and complete dominance of the competition are bad for fans. Our Senate court hearing set the stage. Now we need to do this.
—Amy Klobuchar (@amyklobuchar) May 23, 2024
US lawmakers welcomed the Justice Department's announcement on Thursday, with Senator Amy Klobuchar saying the government was “doing the right thing” by suing Live Nation.
“It's time to disband Live Nation/Ticketmaster,” Klobuchar, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust and Consumer Rights, said in a social media post.
“Hidden fees, poor service and the stranglehold of competition are bad for fans. Our Senate court hearing set the stage. “Now we have to do this.”
Ticketmaster is the world's largest ticket seller, processing 500 million tickets each year in more than 30 countries. About 70 percent of tickets to major U.S. concert venues are sold through Ticketmaster, according to data from a federal lawsuit filed by consumers in 2022.
The company owns or controls more than 265 concert venues and dozens of major amphitheaters in North America, according to the Justice Department.
