- Live Nation has settled with the Department of Justice in a high-profile antitrust case.
- The DOJ had sued to split Ticketmaster from Live Nation over monopoly concerns.
- The deal between Live Nation and the DOJ comes after a trial opened in Manhattan last week.
Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation, have reached a settlement with the Department of Justice in a high-profile antitrust case that seeks to break up the entertainment giant.
The deal between Live Nation and the DOJ was announced on Monday after a civil trial over the monopoly allegations opened in Manhattan last week.
The Justice Department initially sued Live Nation under the Biden administration to split Ticketmaster from the company.
Attorneys for the federal government, plus 39 states and the District of Columbia, had pushed to dismantle what they described as an illegal monopoly that drove up ticket prices for fans of live music, sports events, and theater.
The settlement did not terminate the trial, though it did put the proceedings on hold. The surviving plaintiffs — the attorneys general for the states and DC — are so far planning to return to court on Monday to begin presenting their case.
The DOJ and a bipartisan group of state attorneys general alleged that Live Nation Entertainment used its massive network of partnerships with some 400 top-tier artists and close to 300 arenas and concert venues across North America to suppress competition.
In opening statements last week in a Manhattan federal courthouse, Assistant US Attorney David Dahlquist pointed to Ticketmaster’s 2022 Taylor Swift Eras tour crash as evidence that a lack of competition allowed Live Nation to saddle fans, artists, and venues with shoddy service.
Live Nation attorney David R. Marriott called Ticketmaster “the highest quality product that there is on this planet in terms of delivering quality ticketing services” in his opening remarks.
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