Ten more states join DOJ suit against Live Nation

Ten additional states have joined the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation.

The attorneys general (AGs) of Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, Utah and Vermont have backed the DOJ’s lawsuit, first filed in May, which accuses LN-Ticketmaster of monopolisation and other unlawful conduct.

The DOJ and its expanded group of 40 co-plaintiffs have now filed an amended complaint in the Southern District of New York, also alleging “additional details about Live Nation-Ticketmaster’s anticompetitive course of conduct in markets across the live entertainment industry”.

The bipartisan coalition is seeking treble the monetary damages initially sought from the companies, who merged in 2010.

“Live Nation and Ticketmaster have abused the market to overcharge consumers and harm venues and artists”

“Live Nation and Ticketmaster have abused the market to overcharge consumers and harm venues and artists, and my office will ensure this illegal conduct is stopped,” says New York AG Letitia James. “Through this version of the amended lawsuit against Live Nation and Ticketmaster, my office is seeking to recover damages for New York consumers who were overcharged by Live Nation and Ticketmaster.

“It’s time for a new era where fans, venues, and artists are not taken advantage of by big corporations that run the world of live events.”

The DOJ’s allegations include acquiring competitors and competitive threats, restricting artists’ access to venues, threatening and retaliating against venues that work with rivals, locking out competition with exclusive contracts and blocking venues from using multiple ticketing firms. It also claims the firm “exploits” its relationship with venue giant Oak View Group (OVG).

“Live Nation’s conduct has harmed fans because they have been left with fewer concerts, have had more limited choices among touring artists, have paid higher ticketing fees and have experienced a lower-quality ticketing experience than they otherwise would have but for Live Nation’s anticompetitive conduct,” reads the revised complaint.

A Live Nation spokesperson says there is “nothing new” in the amended lawsuit.

“The lawsuit still won’t solve the issues fans care about relating to ticket prices, service fees, and access to in-demand shows”

“The lawsuit still won’t solve the issues fans care about relating to ticket prices, service fees, and access to in-demand shows,” adds the spokesperson. “We look forward to sharing more facts as the case progresses.”

Live Nation’s EVP, corporate and regulatory affairs Dan Wall has also issued an updated response to the suit in an online post.

“Live Nation is in the business of bringing the joy of live entertainment to people and to that end connecting artists to fans and supporting a productive live entertainment ecosystem,” says Wall. “That is what we do – better than anyone else – and what we will continue to do as we challenge this lawsuit.”

Wall, who joined Live Nation last year after more than 12 years as a key advisor to the firm, adds: “Is the ticketing marketplace confusing to consumers? Yes, it certainly is. And we have been very clear in the halls of Congress and at the DOJ that we favour genuine reforms that would actually help fans get tickets at the price the artist has set for them to pay.

“Fans want to see the bands and sports teams they love, and it infuriates them that tickets sell out on Ticketmaster and are then available by the hundreds on secondary online sites at double and triple the cost. But the government has chosen to do nothing about this. Instead, it has filed a case which misleads the public into thinking that ticket prices will be lower if something is done about Live Nation and Ticketmaster.”

Earlier this summer, a New York judge said the case could go to trial in early 2026.

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