U.S. Dept. of Justice files an antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster and parent company Live Nation

[Sylvia]

DOJ Sues Ticketmaster Owner Live Nation

Reports of the pending litigation first circulated Wednesday, though the entertainment giant has faced scrutiny for years.

www.forbes.com

Press conference will be livestreamed here soon (started just after 11 am ET): https://www.justice.gov/live

ETA - thought this topic could be discussed here in OTBT instead of in PI:

Justice Department says illegal monopoly by Ticketmaster and Live Nation drives up prices for fans (May 23, 2024):

Justice Department says illegal monopoly by Ticketmaster and Live Nation drives up prices for fans

The Justice Department has filed a sweeping antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster and parent company Live Nation Entertainment, accusing them of running an illegal monopoly over live events in America and driving up prices for fans.

apnews.com

The Justice Department filed a sweeping antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster and parent company Live Nation Entertainment on Thursday, accusing them of running an illegal monopoly over live events in America — squelching competition and driving up prices for fans.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Manhattan, was being brought with 30 state and district attorneys general and seeks to break up the monopoly they say is squeezing out smaller promoters and hurting artists.
“We allege that 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-Ticketmaster.”

 

[caseyedwards]

I don’t believe the justice department ever should have approved this merger!! Everyone was predicting this but Obama justice department said ok to please powerful liberal entertainment interest! And now government flip flops!

 

[Sylvia]

Thanks for the heads up in GSD yesterday, @peibeck!

Bloomberg is reporting the DoJ is planning to sue Live Nation/Ticketmaster this week (probably to be announced 5/23) in an antitrust suit.

Tennessee joins DOJ lawsuit against Live Nation, Ticketmaster: Here's what to know:

Tennessee joins DOJ lawsuit against Live Nation, Ticketmaster: Here's what to know

The Ticketmaster chaos from Taylor Swift 2022 ticket sale in Tennessee has now lead to a lawsuit involving other states and the DOJ. Here's what's happening.

www.tennessean.com

In 2022, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti's office took on Ticketmaster after chaos erupted when fans tried to buy pre-sale tickets for Taylor Swift. Now, the ticketing company is facing a lawsuit from the Department of Justice and even more states.
Tennessee is one of 29 states, Washington, D.C. and now the Justice Department that are part of a lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment, the parentcompany of Ticketmaster, alleging it monopolized live events. Skrmetti praised the move by the DOJ to move ahead with the suit on Thursday.
“Since Ticketmaster’s Taylor Swift ticketing debacle in 2022, my AG colleagues and I have relentlessly sought justice for Americans wanting to attend concerts without having their pocketbooks pillaged by Live Nation’s monopoly,” Skrmetti said in a statement. “I will continue to fight on behalf of the artists, venues, and concertgoers in Tennessee, and I am glad to partner with the DOJ in the bipartisan effort to break up the Live Nation/Ticketmaster monopoly.”
The lawsuit seeks to lower prices for fans and open venue doors to more musicians.

The fees Ticketmaster charges for concerts can be staggering. For example, a 2022 Red Hot Chili Peppers show at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. had per-ticket fees of $25.75, plus $3.49 for processing, meaning one concert-goer would pay $29.24, an additional 36% of the original $81.50 ticket cost.
On Thursday, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said that dominance allowed the company to exert control over the live-events industry in a way that hurt fans, performers, smaller promoters and venue operators. The company uses outdated technology that deprives fans of ticketing information, according to the federal lawsuit filed in New York.