Justice Department and Live Nation Clash Over Allegations of Illegal Monopoly

The Justice Department reportedly told a judge Friday (Jan. 23) that Live Nation kept concerts that it promotes away from venues that stopped using its business unit Ticketmaster as a ticket seller.

The government cited this as a reason why Live Nation should be broken up, Bloomberg reported Friday. The government sued the company in 2024, alleging that it operates an illegal monopoly.

Live Nation responded to the Justice Department’s argument by telling the judge Friday that the government found only eight alleged cases over 15 years in which the company threatened to withhold concerts from venues that stopped using Ticketmaster, according to the report.

The company has asked the judge to throw out the government’s lawsuit or to decide the case without a trial, the report said. The judge did not say Friday when he would rule on that request, per the report.

The trial is set to begin March 2, according to the report.

The Justice Department filed its lawsuit to dismantle Live Nation in May 2024 after completing an investigation that it launched in 2022. The suit alleged antitrust violations and monopolistic practices in the live events industry.

The lawsuit accused Live Nation of maintaining a self-reinforcing business model in which the company captures significant fees and revenue from fans and sponsorships and then uses those resources to secure exclusive promotion deals with artists. It also alleged that the company’s dominance of ticketing for major concert venues, through Ticketmaster, lets it stifle competition by threatening financial retaliation against venues that collaborate with its rivals.

Live Nation responded to the filing of the lawsuit by saying that the Justice Department’s complaint blames concert promoters and ticketing companies for high prices while ignoring the production costs, artist popularity and online ticket scalping that are actually responsible for those prices.

Live Nation and Ticketmaster also face a lawsuit filed in September by the Federal Trade Commission and seven states. That suit alleges that the company illegally sold event tickets acquired by brokers and deceived consumers and artists about prices and policies, in part by concealing mandatory fees. It seeks civil penalties and additional monetary relief.