Antitrust Suit Against Live Nation?
Apr 16, 2024 16:24:28 GMT -5
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Post by anaix3l on Apr 16, 2024 16:24:28 GMT -5
www.wsj.com/business/media/live-nation-justice-department-antitrust-lawsuit-ab98c268?st=72k5h7o4fmwvh6m
I'll believe it when I see it. But out of all the ticket sellers I've had to deal with, ticketbastard have been by far the worst.
The Justice Department is preparing to sue Live Nation as soon as next month, an antitrust challenge that could spur major changes at the biggest name in concert promotion and ticketing.
The agency is preparing to file an antitrust lawsuit against the Ticketmaster parent in the coming weeks that would allege the nation’s biggest concert promoter has leveraged its dominance in a way that undermined competition for ticketing live events, according to people familiar with the matter.
The specific claims the department would allege couldn’t be learned. The federal government opted out of trying to block Live Nation and Ticketmaster’s 2010 tie up.
Since then, the company has faced accusations of exorbitant ticket fees, flawed customer service and anticompetitive practices from lawmakers, regulators and state attorneys general. Critics of the merger say it has stifled competition in ticketing and that the company should be broken up.
Live Nation’s size and power in concert promotion, ticketing and venues are at the heart of a Justice Department investigation that began in 2022. The investigation gained momentum in November 2022 after Ticketmaster crashed during a fan presale to Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour.”
In an essay published on the company’s website last month, Live Nation’s head of corporate affairs Dan Wall sought to defend the company against accusations that it is a monopoly. Ticketmaster doesn’t set prices, he said, artists and teams do, and they are subject to high demand and low supply, while the majority of fees go to venues.
Live Nation merged with Ticketmaster in 2010 despite industry fears that Live Nation would use its might to compel venues to use its new ticketing arm. The combined company has grown into an events behemoth that benefited from the postpandemic resurgence of live events.
Ticketmaster now holds more than 80% of the market for primary ticket sales in the biggest venues in the U.S. It has exclusive ticketing contracts with many of the stadiums and arenas where high-profile acts perform.
“Ticketmaster has more competition today than it has ever had, and the deal terms with venues show it has nothing close to monopoly power,” a Ticketmaster spokeswoman said.
Wall said in a statement that ticketing companies compete for more than the biggest venues in the country. “If you have to hone in on one slice of the market in order to allege a monopoly, then there isn’t one,” he said.
The new Justice Department lawsuit could unravel a settlement agreement that Live Nation reached with the department in 2010 over the Ticketmaster merger. The settlement conditions were supposed to expire after a decade. But in 2019, antitrust enforcers got the deal extended through 2025 after finding that Live Nation violated the original pact by bullying venues into using its Ticketmaster subsidiary.
The revised settlement included an anti-retaliation clause that prevents Live Nation from threatening to withhold shows if a venue sells seats through a company other than Ticketmaster. Live Nation would be subject to a $1 million penalty for each violation of that provision, the agreement says.
The 2019 deal also required the appointment of an outside law firm, Kirkland & Ellis, to oversee Live Nation’s compliance with its requirements.
The agency is preparing to file an antitrust lawsuit against the Ticketmaster parent in the coming weeks that would allege the nation’s biggest concert promoter has leveraged its dominance in a way that undermined competition for ticketing live events, according to people familiar with the matter.
The specific claims the department would allege couldn’t be learned. The federal government opted out of trying to block Live Nation and Ticketmaster’s 2010 tie up.
Since then, the company has faced accusations of exorbitant ticket fees, flawed customer service and anticompetitive practices from lawmakers, regulators and state attorneys general. Critics of the merger say it has stifled competition in ticketing and that the company should be broken up.
Live Nation’s size and power in concert promotion, ticketing and venues are at the heart of a Justice Department investigation that began in 2022. The investigation gained momentum in November 2022 after Ticketmaster crashed during a fan presale to Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour.”
In an essay published on the company’s website last month, Live Nation’s head of corporate affairs Dan Wall sought to defend the company against accusations that it is a monopoly. Ticketmaster doesn’t set prices, he said, artists and teams do, and they are subject to high demand and low supply, while the majority of fees go to venues.
Live Nation merged with Ticketmaster in 2010 despite industry fears that Live Nation would use its might to compel venues to use its new ticketing arm. The combined company has grown into an events behemoth that benefited from the postpandemic resurgence of live events.
Ticketmaster now holds more than 80% of the market for primary ticket sales in the biggest venues in the U.S. It has exclusive ticketing contracts with many of the stadiums and arenas where high-profile acts perform.
“Ticketmaster has more competition today than it has ever had, and the deal terms with venues show it has nothing close to monopoly power,” a Ticketmaster spokeswoman said.
Wall said in a statement that ticketing companies compete for more than the biggest venues in the country. “If you have to hone in on one slice of the market in order to allege a monopoly, then there isn’t one,” he said.
The new Justice Department lawsuit could unravel a settlement agreement that Live Nation reached with the department in 2010 over the Ticketmaster merger. The settlement conditions were supposed to expire after a decade. But in 2019, antitrust enforcers got the deal extended through 2025 after finding that Live Nation violated the original pact by bullying venues into using its Ticketmaster subsidiary.
The revised settlement included an anti-retaliation clause that prevents Live Nation from threatening to withhold shows if a venue sells seats through a company other than Ticketmaster. Live Nation would be subject to a $1 million penalty for each violation of that provision, the agreement says.
The 2019 deal also required the appointment of an outside law firm, Kirkland & Ellis, to oversee Live Nation’s compliance with its requirements.
I'll believe it when I see it. But out of all the ticket sellers I've had to deal with, ticketbastard have been by far the worst.