US Department of Justice to sue Ticketmaster owner Live Nation

us department of justice to sue ticketmaster owner live nation

GettyImages-1246499570.jpg

The Justice Department is expected to file a competition lawsuit against entertainment company Live Nation after a two-year investigation into its domination of the ticketing industry.

The case against the entertainment giant, the the parent company of Ticketmaster, as early as Thursday in the Southern District of New York, multiple sources familiar with the matter have told various outlets.

Ticketmaster controls more than 80 per cent of the market for primary ticket sales in the United States. It maintains that control by striking deals with the nation’s largest venues, ensuring that any events held are ticketed through its company.

The DoJ is expected to sue Live Nation over their business practices, reportedly to allege that the business has not allowed the space for competitors and weakened customer choice, which has allowed the increase in pricing.

This will potentially include how Ticketmaster has exclusive ticketing contracts with concert venues, the parent company’s dominance over liver performance tours and other businesses’ live venue management, sources told The New York Times.

The outlet’s sources added that Live Nation’s position in the industry has meant that prices have been able to rise, including customer fees, as well as hindering competition or growth of other businesses in the ticketing industry.

The entertainment company has previously denied it sets high fees and ticket prices, saying those decisions are down to the artists and other parties, such as the venues.

In the ongoing antitrust attacks on Live Nation and Ticketmaster, a constant theme is that their alleged “monopolies” are responsible for high ticket prices,” Dan Wall, executive vice president of corporate and regulatory affairs at LiveNation, wrote in March. “Tickets are actually priced by artists and teams.  It’s their show, they get to decide what it costs to get in.”

When the DoJ has sued over competition issues in the past, it has sought to form a firm to spit off areas of its business or change how it operates its practices.

The government department will be joined in the legal challenge by various state attorney generals, according to theWashington Post.

The action comes after a years-long investigation led by the DoJ’s anti-trust division on their domination of concert ticket sales.

Live Nation and ticket sales and distribution company Ticketmaster were merged together in 2010 to create Live Nation Entertainment.

As a result of the merger, Live Nation entered into a 10-year agreement with the DoJ that was supposed to keep the company from becoming a monopoly. It required Live Nation to provide its ticketing software to AEG Live, it’s closest competition in the market, and prohibited the company from retaliating against venues who sold tickets through other vendors.

In 2019 the deal was only extended to 2025 after an investigation by antitrust enforcers found that Live Nation violated the agreement by reportedly bullying vendors into solely using Ticketmaster.

However, concert fans and politicians alike have called for a reexamination of the merger, especially after outrage when Ticketmaster’s platform faced issues during the presale of tickets for Taylor Swift’s groundbreaking ‘Eras Tour.’

The parent company came under fire in 2022 as initial tickets went on sale for Swift’s Eras Tour after Ticketmaster became too overwhelmed with the demand to see the pop star on stage, causing the site to garner very long wait times and the cancellation of some planned sales.

The lawsuit will be the latest move by the Biden administration, which has made similar cases against big businesses such as Google and Apple regarding monopolisation and antitrust.

The Independent has contacted the Department of Justice and LiveNation for comment.

The Independent has always had a global perspective. Built on a firm foundation of superb international reporting and analysis, The Independent now enjoys a reach that was inconceivable when it was launched as an upstart player in the British news industry. For the first time since the end of the Second World War, and across the world, pluralism, reason, a progressive and humanitarian agenda, and internationalism – Independent values – are under threat. Yet we, The Independent, continue to grow.

OTHER NEWS

4 hrs ago

Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy 'getting fed up' with owner Jerry Jones: report

4 hrs ago

Who Should Steelers Hope Wins Training Camp QB Battle?

4 hrs ago

Goaltender's dad talks up the Oilers' chances of lifting the Stanley Cup

4 hrs ago

Phillies turn rare 1-3-5 triple play against Tigers, 1st since 1929

4 hrs ago

Discount Burger Check? Chiefs' Reid Shares Hilarious Commercial Story

4 hrs ago

'Devastating loss': Digital lending library, Internet Archive, removes 500,000 books after being sued by publishers

4 hrs ago

Iga Swiatek vs Coco Gauff vs Aryna Sabalenka vs Elena Rybakina: WTA ‘Big 4’ state of play ahead of Wimbledon

4 hrs ago

Would a Toronto byelection loss spell doom for Trudeau?

4 hrs ago

BlackSuit ransomware gang blamed for ongoing car dealership outages

4 hrs ago

'Unreal' injury-time equaliser saves football powerhouse

4 hrs ago

Nigel Farage accused of cosying up to the Kremlin by former NATO boss

4 hrs ago

Dagestan, in southern Russia, has a history of violence. Why does it keeps happening?

4 hrs ago

Marines revive a World War II airfield on Peleliu in Pacific pivot

4 hrs ago

Fortnite Brings Tilted Towers and Other Fan Favorite Locations, But With a Twist

4 hrs ago

Shadow of the Erdtree Puts the Cherry on Top of Elden Rings Main Strength

4 hrs ago

Anger erupts as Albo's governor-general is awarded payrise

4 hrs ago

Charo Makes Rare Public Appearance at Project Angel Food Event: 'Life Is Beautiful' (Exclusive)

4 hrs ago

Boozed-up England fans sing '10 German bombers' chant in Cologne

4 hrs ago

Show Respect: ‘Boys are surprised we talk about this, it’s become normalised’

4 hrs ago

After clash with prosecutor, judge reserves ruling on restricting Trump’s rhetoric about agents’ classified documents search

4 hrs ago

Peter Dutton’s nuclear plan ‘doesn’t deliver’ any ‘energy price decrease’ until 2040

4 hrs ago

Where to watch Netherlands vs. Austria live stream, TV channel, lineups, prediction for Euro 2024 match

4 hrs ago

China lunar probe to return to Earth with samples

4 hrs ago

Report: Knicks’ OG Anunoby declines player option, enters unrestricted free agency

4 hrs ago

Saints offensive line ranked 19th in the NFL

4 hrs ago

Senators acquire goaltender Linus Ullmark from Bruins

4 hrs ago

Why Qld feels like home for the Blues

4 hrs ago

Seahawks waive 3 undrafted free agents, make UFL champ signing official

4 hrs ago

Andrew Scott Frantically Runs to Hear Taylor Swift's ‘Style' at 'Eras Tour'

4 hrs ago

England’s Test series v New Zealand: Date, kick-off time and TV channel

4 hrs ago

Bills' McDermott Says Von Miller Has ‘Something to Prove’

4 hrs ago

US prosecutors want Boeing to face criminal charges

4 hrs ago

Finance Minister Michael McGrath set to become Ireland's new EU Commissioner

4 hrs ago

Red-hot Cardinals get huge boost in return of star catcher

4 hrs ago

How police use the mail to spy on you: 60,000 cases in last decade with little pushback

4 hrs ago

These 3 Republicans are Trump’s most likely VP picks

4 hrs ago

Roy Jones Jr. announces his son, DeAndre, died by suicide

4 hrs ago

Luxury Gyms, Like Equinox and Life Time, Are Taking Over Big Retail Spaces

4 hrs ago

Automobili Pininfarina PURA Vision wins prestigious Red Dot Award: Design Concept 2024

4 hrs ago

Pop legend Robbie Williams wears his AFL jersey to see if he still gets recognised in London - with some very surprising results