A California federal judge on Monday, October 16, tossed Live Nation and Ticketmaster’s bid for a quick win on some of Songkick’s antitrust claims against the ticketing giant and its subsidiary over their alleged monopoly on ticket sales, saying the parties disagree on the facts but there is “no question” that the suit stems from a restraint of trade.
Billboard reported that Live Nation’s CEO, Michael Rapino’s, comments, which were made public as part of an order by US District Judge Dale Fischer rejecting a motion to seal or redact files being entered into evidence, included that some of Ticketmaster’s fees are “not defendable” and that the company needs a “simpler more artist friendly policy/rule to meet the reality of today.”
Songkick, which sold its music sharing app to WMG earlier this year and announced last week that the rest of the business would soon be shuttered, is accusing Live Nation of anti-competitive practices and using inside information from former employees against it – leading to the recent departure from Ticketmaster of two employees central to the accusations.
In a statement to Billboard, Live Nation said that “documents cited indicate that Michael Rapino favored lower ticketing fees and changes to Ticketmaster’s Fan Club Policy that would benefit artists. We are at a loss to understand why that is a bad thing. The truth is that Songkick’s lawsuit has interfered with the natural evolution of these policies, harming both artists and fans.”
Both sides were in court on Monday as the judge heard arguments from both sides on whether or not Live Nation/Ticketmaster should be sanctioned for handing over some 4,000 documents — including those that form the core of Songkick’s allegations of theft of intellectual property — well past the deadline. Ticketmaster has argued that the delay was merely an oversight among the much larger volume of documents the company had handed over in a timely fashion.
Full Content: Ticket News
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
UK Business Secretary Calls for More Agile Competition Regulator
Feb 13, 2025 by
CPI
Germany’s Antitrust Regulator Raises Concerns Over Apple’s App Tracking Policies
Feb 13, 2025 by
CPI
$60 Billion Nissan-Honda Merger Falls Apart
Feb 13, 2025 by
CPI
DOJ Moves to End Protections for Three Regulatory Agencies
Feb 13, 2025 by
CPI
Meta to Allow Rivals to List Ads on Facebook Marketplace Following EU Fine
Feb 13, 2025 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – International Criminal Enforcement
Jan 23, 2025 by
CPI
The Antitrust Division’s Recent Work to Combat International Cartels
Jan 23, 2025 by
Emma Burnham & Benjamin Christenson
Information Sharing: The New Frontier of U.S. Antitrust Enforcement
Jan 23, 2025 by
Brian P. Quinn, Casey Kovarik & Michael Tubach
The Key Role of Guidelines on Exchanges of Information Among Competitors and the Divergent Transatlantic Paths
Jan 23, 2025 by
Rosa Abrantes-Metz & Albert Metz
Leniency, Whistleblowers, and Compliance
Jan 23, 2025 by
Richard Powers, Tara O’Malley & Cory Gordon