Antitrust Lawsuit Against Live Nation: What It Means for the Future of Live Events

Justice Department Sues Live Nation-Ticketmaster for Monopolizing Markets Across the Live Concert Industry

Last week, The Department of Justice and 30 state and district attorneys general announced a lawsuit against ticketing giant Live Nation on antitrust grounds.

The lawsuit claims Live Nation engaged in harmful practices affecting artists, venues, fans, and industry start-ups. The outcome of the legal battle could upend the ticketing and live events industry for years to come.

After merging in 2010, Ticketmaster and Live Nation have controlled most of the live event market and ticket sales in the United States. It is now the largest entertainment company in the world, dominating almost every corner of the live events, and more specifically, live music industry.

Ticketmaster’s dominance in the primary ticketing market has been under close scrutiny, but that's just part of the story. Live Nation leverages its promoter and artist management divisions to secure exclusive contracts with venues.

In one example from 2013, three years after Live Nation's merger with Ticketmaster, Live Nation redirected a Matchbox Twenty tour (which it was promoting) from a popular arena because the venue had switched to another ticketing provider, replacing Ticketmaster.

"Live Nation directly manages more than 400 musical artists and, in total, controls around 60% of concert promotions at major concert venues across the country," the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit argues Live Nation leveraged Ticketmaster's exclusive contracts with concert venues to maintain a monopoly in the live entertainment industry, allowing them to "freeze innovation and bend the industry to their own benefit."

"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," Attorney General Merrick Garland said 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."

Accusations against Live Nation included working with the venue management firm Oak View Group to push clients to sign exclusive contracts with Ticketmaster. Complaints continued, including Live Nation's threats of retaliation toward upstart groups deemed as competition, the extension of long-term "exclusionary" deals with venues, preventing the hire of management companies, and the use of multiple ticketing platforms.

There were also concerns about Ticketmaster's intention to become the primary platform for ticket sales, considering Live Nation's control over a significant number of venues, which could lead to a monopoly in the market. Notably, discussions and legal action arose from increasing tension between fans and the ticketing company due to the mishandling of Taylor Swift's 2022 Eras Tour, leading to subsequent Senate hearings.

Today's lawsuit is part of a series of antitrust efforts initiated during President Joe Biden's administration, prioritizing ending alleged monopolies in the entertainment industry. In July 2021, Biden signed an executive order promoting competition. Over the past year, bills have been introduced to address ticketing issues, such as The House's recent decision to pass the TICKET Act, which mandates that sellers disclose the costs and fees associated with ticket listings.

Live Nation responded to the Justice Department's allegations, calling them "baseless" and arguing that the lawsuit won't solve the issues fans care about, such as ticket prices, service fees, and access to popular shows. The company also stated that labeling Ticketmaster as a monopoly may be a public relations win for the DOJ in the short term, but it will not hold up in court because it overlooks the fundamental economics of live entertainment.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) chose not to block Live Nation's acquisition of Ticketmaster in 2010, but stated that an existing consent decree prevents the company from pressuring concert venues to use its ticketing software.

According to Axios, the 10-year consent decree was extended for more than five years in 2020, granting the DOJ more authority to take action against the company for abusing its market dominance.

In late 2022, Live Nation faced intense scrutiny from lawmakers and consumer advocacy groups due to issues with ticket sales for Taylor Swift's Eras Tour. This incident highlighted the firm's dominance, while reports indicated that the DOJ was already investigating the company.

“Our fight against corporate wrongdoing includes an intense focus on anticompetitive conduct — which disadvantages consumers, workers, and businesses of all kinds,” Garland said.