Last year after the Taylor Swift Eras Tour ticket debacle, we detailed how the 2010 Live Nation-Ticketmaster merger has caused ticket prices to increase exponentially. The Justice Department and 30 states have decided enough is enough and filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation!
Attorney General Merrick Garland stated in a press conference on Thursday morning: “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. 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.”
The goal is to once again break Live Nation and Ticketmaster into separate companies. This comes after 14 years of Live Nation agreeing to make changes and failing to live up to its broken promises. The entire 128-page complaint is available for anyone to read.
Live Nation released a response to the lawsuit on its website which claims “net profits show that Live Nation and Ticketmaster do not wield monopoly power” and “this lawsuit against Live Nation and Ticketmaster won’t reduce ticket prices or service fees.”
The legal proceedings around this issue could take years, so buyers should not expect to see any decrease in fees or increase in ticket availability anytime soon. We will continue to follow this story as it develops. The action by the government brings hope that reforms about ticket prices and availability will improve the ticketing experience for all the devoted music lovers trying to see their favorite artists live.
