Lawsuit Accuses Ticketmaster and Live Nation of ‘Racketeering Activity’

A new lawsuit brought by fans of Taylor Swift and other musicians reportedly accuses Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation, of colluding with other organizations to drive up ticket prices.

The plaintiffs allege that this conduct violates the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, as the organizations colluded with partners in such a way as to become an illegal enterprise, Wired reported Monday (Nov. 18).

Their complaint, which was filed Friday (Nov. 15) in California state court and expands on a federal court case brought by Swift fans, accuses Ticketmaster and Live Nation of engaging “in a pattern of racketeering activity,” according to the report.

A Live National spokesperson said in the report: “This lawsuit is based on false assumptions about how ticketing works. Artist teams, not Ticketmaster, set prices. Live Nation does not own stadiums in the U.S. and primary tickets are consistently priced below market value, as evidenced by resale prices averaging more than double.”

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit to dismantle Live Nation in May, alleging antitrust violations and monopolistic practices.

“We allege that Live Nation relies on unlawful, anticompetitive conduct to exercise its monopolistic control over the live events industry in the United States at the cost of fans, artists, smaller promoters and venue operators,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement announcing the suit at the time.

Live Nation responded to that lawsuit by calling the accusations “absurd.”

Dan Wall, executive vice president for corporate and regulatory affairs at Live Nation, said: “It ignores everything that is actually responsible for higher ticket prices, from increasing production costs to artist popularity, to 24/7 online ticket scalping.”

A day after the DOJ filed its suit, a consumer antitrust lawsuit was filed, accusing Live Nation of exerting monopoly control over its industry.

At the time of the filing of that suit in May, the lawsuit sought $5 billion in damages on behalf of what could be millions of customers.

Live Nation has faced criticism of its ticket fees, customer service and allegedly anticompetitive practices since the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster in 2010.