The Department of Justice on Thursday filed a lawsuit seeking to break up Live Nation, Ticketmaster’s parent company, alleging that the company exerted excessive control over the live-events industry, harming consumers and violating antitrust laws.
The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of New York and supported by attorneys general from 29 states and Washington, D.C., alleges that Live Nation has engaged in conduct that harms artists and fans, as well as the live entertainment industry as a whole, and infringes on their businesses.
Live Nation directly manages over 400 musicians, manages approximately 60% of concert promotions at major venues, and manages approximately 80% or more of ticket sales at major concert venues through Ticketmaster, as well as resale. The company’s market share is also expanding.
“Live Nation relies on illegal and anti-competitive conduct to exert monopoly control over the U.S. live events industry at the expense of fans, artists, small promoters and venue operators,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a news release. “As a result, fans pay more, artists get fewer opportunities to perform, small promoters are squeezed out, and venues have fewer practical options for ticketing services. It’s time to break up Live Nation.”
Among the allegations against Live Nation are:
- The company said it worked with a venue management company called Oak View Group to induce customers to sign an exclusive agreement to use Ticketmaster. Co-founded by influential entertainment executive and former Live His Nation Chairman Irving Azoff, Oak View oversees dozens of arenas around the world. Representatives for Oakview did not respond to requests for comment.
- The company has sought to eliminate competition in the concert promotion business through threats of retaliation and has acquired start-up groups it views as threats.
- The company has long-term “exclusivity” agreements with venues that prohibit them from seeking alternative management companies or using multiple ticket sales platforms.
- Ticketmaster has become the default ticketing platform for many artists, as Live Nation controls most of the venues where artists want to perform.
Live Nation said in a statement that the Justice Department’s allegations are “without merit” and that the department’s actions would be counterproductive.
“The Department of Justice’s lawsuit does nothing to resolve fans’ concerns about ticket prices, service fees, or access to popular programming,” it said. “While calling Ticketmaster a monopoly may be a short-term public relations win for the Department of Justice, it will fail in court because it ignores the fundamental economics of live entertainment, including the fact that a large portion of its service fees go to venues, and competition has steadily eroded Ticketmaster’s market share and profit margins.”
The company also disputed Ticketmaster’s dominant role, saying its market share had been declining for more than a decade.
They also said the lawsuit ignores major factors that are making fans’ live entertainment and ticket-buying experiences worse, including rising production costs, growing artist popularity and 24/7 online ticket resale.
“Live Nation can and has provided fans, artists, venues and the rest of the performance ecosystem with better prices and better service than if these complementary businesses were separated.” said. “Ticketmaster, in particular, under Live Nation’s ownership, is a much better, more artist- and fan-focused business than it was when it was an independent company. isn’t it.”
Ticketmaster has faced complaints from fans and artists for years, but that anger reached a fever pitch after ticket sales for Taylor Swift’s 2022 Ellas Tour failed. did. The Senate Judiciary Committee subsequently held a hearing on the company’s role in the ticketing industry.
Thursday’s filing joins several major antitrust efforts launched under President Joe Biden, who has made rooting out antitrust violations a pillar of his presidency. In July 2021, President Biden signed an executive order promoting competition. One of the biggest such efforts by the Biden administration was the Justice Department’s lawsuit in March accusing Apple of exercising monopoly power in the smartphone market, a charge the company denies. There is.
Biden said he is a “proud capitalist” but that “capitalism without competition is not capitalism, it’s exploitation.”
Several bills have been introduced over the past year to address issues affecting ticket buyers. Last week, the House of Representatives passed the Transparency in Ticket Sales Fees for Significant Events (TICKET) Act, which requires sellers to sell tickets to major events. Disclose all costs and fees up front when selling tickets.
Live Nation supported the move and said it supports ticket sales reforms, including anti-bot legislation and a ban on speculative ticket sales, meaning tickets not currently owned by the seller.
“The bipartisan support for these reforms shows that protecting fans and artists is in everyone’s interest,” the company said in a statement. “We look forward to working with policymakers to make these changes into law.”
Rep. Bill Pascrell, R-D.N., who introduced the BOSS and SWIFT Acts last year to combat ticketing fraud, called the lawsuit “one of the most fan-friendly moves by the federal government in years.” ” he called. He added that the Live Nation and Ticketmaster merger should not have been allowed.
“This news is a victory for the millions of American fans who have been used, deceived, ripped off and totally robbed by this corrupt and greedy organization,” Pascrill said in a statement.
More than 250 artists recently signed a letter supporting the Fan First Act, which was introduced in the Senate in December. The bill aims to improve price transparency and consumer protection, and prevent unscrupulous traders from setting exorbitant prices. It also strengthens the Online Ticket Sales Improvement Act, passed in 2016 to prohibit resellers from using software to buy tickets in bulk, by further prohibiting the use of bots in ticket sales. There is also.
Dan Wall, Live Nation’s executive vice president of corporate and regulatory affairs, responded to complaints about ticket sales and pricing in a post on Live Nation’s website in March.
Ticketmaster is perceived as “a giant ticket seller that buys tickets in bulk and sells them at prices it determines,” Wall wrote, but in reality, ticket prices are set by artists and sports teams, Wall said.
Consumer advocacy groups welcomed reports earlier this year that the Justice Department was planning to sue Live Nation.
Mark Meader, president of the Fan Fairness Coalition and a Republican antitrust expert, said in an April statement that a lawsuit against the company would demonstrate “the seriousness of this situation and the need for action to protect fans.”
“It holds Ticketmaster and Live Nation accountable for monopolistic and anti-competitive business practices that have undermined free market competition in the live event ticketing industry and harmed millions of fans. “This will be an important step towards achieving this goal,” he said.
In a statement, groups representing independent venues praised the Justice Department’s actions.
“We are hopeful that the lawsuit filed today will ultimately produce a meaningful outcome that benefits fans, artists, independent venues and festivals, and the businesses that surround us across the country,” said Steven Parker, executive director of the National Independent Venue Association.
Ticketmaster argued that artists and their teams set the terms of how tickets go on sale. In a webpage titled “Ticketing Truths,” Ticketmaster said that the act is responsible for setting the face value of the ticket. Artists also work with managers, agents and promoters to decide which venues to play, when tickets go on sale, and how they are sold.
As for service fees, a frequent criticism among fans, the company said they are set by the venues, who keep the majority of the revenue, with a “portion” of the revenue going to pay ticketing companies and credit card fees.