In May 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and 39 states filed a lawsuit against Live Nation along with Ticketmaster for having a monopoly over the live music industry. The DOJ later picked up the case from the Biden administration, and on March 2, jury selection began for the antitrust trial in District Court in New York City.
A week later, on March 9, a nominal settlement was reached, leaving many questions unanswered and justice unserved.
The DOJ specifically accused Live Nation of excessive control over promotion and ticketing, leading to higher, unfair prices and fewer customer options, and of illegally monopolizing the business, pushing out their competitors like SeatGeek, Eventbrite, and Stubhub. In addition, Live Nation was accused of holding too much control over venue management, also inflating ticket prices for fans.
According to Relix, at the beginning of the trial in his opening statement, DOJ attorney David Dahlquist stated, “Today, the concert ticket industry is broken; in fact, the concert industry itself is broken. It is controlled by a monopolist. It is controlled by Live Nation.”
By Monday, March 9th, a settlement was agreed upon which includes Live Nation divesting around 13 amphitheaters, capping ticketing services fees at 15%, and Live Nation paying $280 million to states in retribution.
Despite the settlement appearing to be an end to the legal case, it has left many individuals and parties upset, and ultimately with a sense of a lack of justice.
$280 million is simply a minor fraction of Live Nation’s revenue and will barely disrupt the company’s success. In addition, the divesting of amphitheaters still allows Live Nation to book shows there, and ultimately, barely hurts the company as a whole.
Most importantly, thoughts of a settlement were discussed in open court on Monday, March 9th, but Judge Arun Subramanian, the Federal Judge overseeing the case, ultimately appeared displeased with the settlement. A large issue arose from the fact that the federal prosecutors did not immediately tell Judge Subramanian about the deal they were planning.
According to NBC News, District Judge Arun Subramanian said that the parties “failed to disclose any updates regarding a settlement. It shows absolute disrespect for the court, the jury, and this entire process. It’s absolutely unacceptable.”
The AP reported Letitia James, New York Attorney General, stated that the settlement “fails to address the monopoly at the center of this case.” Some states have indicated that they are displeased with the settlement, along with Judge Arun Subramanian’s displeasure with the process of reaching a settlement there are signs that the trial will continue.
Attorneys representing the 27 states and Washington, D.C., requested 60 days to prepare to continue the trial but Subramanian has rejected this request, saying that if both sides truly wanted to settle, a deal could be made within a week.
Additionally, Subramanian has declined to declare a mistrial, while ordering the states to negotiate a potential resolution with Live Nation. Still, if no settlement is reached, a jury trial in the case may continue next week. In ordering Live Nation Chief Executive Officer Michael Rapino to remain in New York for negotiations, the judge said, “It’s unclear to me why you would need anything more than the right people, here, in court.”
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