Live Nation to open Ticketmaster to other sellers and pay $280 million to settle antitrust charges
(CBS NEWS) – According to CBS News, Live Nation, the parent company of Ticketmaster, has reached a deal with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to settle charges that the entertainment company’s dominance in the event ticket business undermined competition and hurt consumers.
Under the settlement, Live Nation agreed to pay $280 million in civil penalties to 40 states that sued the company over its practices and to sell some of its amphitheaters. Ticketmaster must also open technology to allow other ticket sellers to use its platform to reach customers, multiple sources told CBS News.
Live Nation did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company, which has long clashed with music artists and consumers over ticket sales, has argued that performers set prices and dictate how tickets are sold.
The decision comes less than a week after Live Nation’s antitrust trial kicked off in a New York courtroom.
“We’re very excited about this settlement, because it basically opens up markets for other competitors, which will allow for competition that previously didn’t exist in primary ticketing and in the live entertainment space,” a senior Justice Department official said during a press briefing on Monday, adding that this change will “have a direct impact on prices coming down.”
After the Justice Department announced the deal on Monday in Manhattan federal court, Judge Arun Subramanian called it “entirely unacceptable,” saying that no one informed him of the tentative settlement until late Sunday.
States vow to keep fighting
Not all the states involved in the suit agreed with the deal struck between the Justice Department and Live Nation. New York Attorney General Letitia James criticized the settlement and vowed to keep litigating, saying in a statement that the agreement “fails to address the monopoly at the center of this case.”
James said that attorneys general from more than two dozen states plan to move forward with the lawsuit in an effort to “restore fair competition to the live entertainment industry.”
Those states include Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming and the District of Columbia.
A senior Justice Department official defended the Live Nation agreement in a call with reporters, adding that the agency expects more states to back the settlement.
“That’s a process that is still ongoing,” the official said, adding that DOJ is still actively working to address potential state concerns.
What does the settlement include?
Under the DOJ agreement, Ticketmaster will be required to divest 13 amphitheaters, and potentially more, if additional states endorse the settlement, the Justice Department official said. The agreement also imposes a 15% service fee cap on amphitheaters.
Ticketmaster will be required to enable third parties to use its technology system to offer tickets.
“We now have a 50-50 split on exclusivity where venues and artists can be exclusive with Live Nation up to 50% — but 50% of those tickets have to be reserved or allowed for other people who are not in an exclusive arrangement with Live Nation to use it,” the official added.
Ticketmaster will also be required to offer venues the option to enter a non-exclusive agreement and is prohibited from retaliating against any company that chooses a primary ticketer other than Ticketmaster.
Lawsuit filed during Biden administration
Federal prosecutors, along with dozens of states, sued Live Nation and Ticketmaster in 2024 after alleging the company was violating antitrust laws.
As part of the suit, the Justice Department said Live Nation illegally thwarted competition in ticketing and concert promotion, leading music fans to pay higher prices for tickets and limiting venues’ options in choosing a ticketing service.
Ticketmaster was founded in 1976 in Phoenix, Arizona. In 2010, Beverly Hills, California-based Live Nation acquired the ticketing platform and formed Live Nation Entertainment.
