On May 23, 2024, the Department of Justice, along with 30 bipartisan state attorneys general, filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment and its wholly owned subsidiary, Ticketmaster, for violations of the Sherman Act as well as various state antitrust statutes. The lawsuit comes a little more than a year after Ticketmaster made headlines in the late fall of 2022 for its “Eras Tour” fiasco and the subsequent public outcry about the company and its practices.
United States Attorney General Merrick Garland, giving remarks about the lawsuit, highlighted public criticism over Live Nation-Ticketmaster’s “exorbitant fees and technological failures” and stated that this lawsuit is “what happens when a monopolist dedicates its resources to entrenching its monopoly power and insulating itself from competition rather than investing in better products and services.” Ultimately, however, this is not a case concerning “inconvenient or frustrating” conduct to consumers but rather one of illegal anticompetitive conduct by Live Nation. Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell remarked that “Live Nation’s anticompetitive conduct not only violates the law but stifles innovation, including by forcing venues to solely use Ticketmaster or strategically acquiring venues in order to eliminate competition.”
Live Nation “produces more concerts, sells more tickets, and connects more brands to music than anyone else in the world,” according to its own website. The entertainment conglomerate controls 80% of primary ticketing at major concert venues, directly manages more than 400 artists, controls more than 60% of concert promotions across the country, and owns or controls more than 60% of large amphitheaters in the United States.
The complaint alleges that Live Nation, through its control over venues, artists, ticketing, and promoting, has created a monopoly, resulting in fans paying more fees, artists having fewer opportunities to play concerts, and venues having few real choices for ticketing services. Specifically, the complaint alleges Live Nation has violated federal antitrust laws because it has monopoly power over three individual markets — (1) Large Amphitheaters, (2) Primary Ticketing Services, and (3) Concert Promotion services— and has unlawfully maintained its monopoly power in each of these markets through a course of anticompetitive conduct. This conduct consists of:
- Forcing venues to agree to restrictive long-term agreements that require these venues to exclusively use Ticketmaster for ticketing;
- Threatening that venues will lose access to Live Nation-controlled tours and artists if they sign with a ticketer that is not Ticketmaster;
- Using its extensive network of amphitheaters to coerce artists into selecting Live Nation as a promoter instead of its rivals;
- Threatening rival promoters to attempt to prevent their entry into the United States market; and
- Serially and strategically acquiring promoters, venues and festivals to eliminate competition in the live entertainment industry.
Further, the Complaint alleges that Ticketmaster’s use of long-term exclusive agreements to provide primary ticketing services to major concert venues violates federal law because it unreasonably restrains competition. The contracts, which can be up to 14 years long, are alleged to have had harmful effects on fans of major concerts, the venues that host them, and competition for primary ticketing.
Finally, the Complaint alleges that Live Nation created unlawful “tying” arrangements where It requires artists seeking to use Live Nation-controlled large amphitheaters for their shows to also purchase promotion service from Live Nation. The anticompetitive conduct here, as alleged in the complaint, results in artists who would otherwise choose rival promoters on the merits of those promoters refraining from doing so to maintain the use of Live Nation’s amphitheaters on their tours.
The Complaint seeks various declaratory remedies that Live Nation has violated federal and state antitrust laws and injunctive relief to prevent anticompetitive practices in the future. Several states seek additional civil penalties for violating state laws and attorney’s fees where applicable. However, the most notable request for relief is a court order requiring Live Nation’s divestiture of Ticketmaster.
While state attorneys general joined the lawsuit, several decided not to bring any additional claims under state law. The State Attorneys General of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Wyoming assert no state-specific claims. They instead participate in the lawsuit under the Clayton Act’s (15 U.S.C. § 26) provision allowing private parties (including state attorneys general) to sue for injunctive relief for violations of federal antitrust laws. This provision allows a prevailing plaintiff to recover the cost of the suit and reasonable attorney’s fees.
The trial is set to commence on March 2, 2026, in the United States District Court of the Southern District of New York, with the complaint seeking a trial by Jury.
