What to know
- Live entertainment giant Live Nation reached a settlement with the Department of Justice for US $280 million a week into an anti-trust lawsuit.
- The company must also divest from 13 amphitheatres in the United States, cap service fees at no more than 15 per cent of the ticket price and allow rival ticketing companies to use its platform.
- Live Nation and Ticketmaster landed in hot water in late 2022 over its disastrous handling of Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour ticket sales.
Live Nation has reached a settlement with the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) just one week into an anti-trust trial targeting the company’s monopoly in the live music industry.
Under the proposed settlement, Live Nation will pay US$280 million to states that participated in the lawsuit. But according to Stephen Parker, the executive director of the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), $280 million is chump change for Live Nation, and “they could potentially make it back by this Friday.”
The live entertainment giant and its subsidiary Ticketmaster made headlines in late 2022 when the initial batch of tickets for Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour went on sale. The debacle led the DOJ to label Live Nation a monopoly.
The DOJ and 40 states first sued Live Nation in 2024, and a separate lawsuit was also filed by the Federal Trade Commission and seven states accusing the company of deceptive ticketing practices and allowing scalpers to buy up tickets.
Under this agreement, Live Nation must divest from 13 amphitheatres in the U.S. and cap service fees at no more than 15 per cent of the ticket price. The company must also allow rival ticketing companies to use its platform.
Live Nation’s President and CEO Michael Rapino issued a statement, writing, “Today marks a major step in improving the concert experience for artists and fans throughout the United States. Live Nation is proud to lead the way enhancing this experience with our amphitheaters, which will be open to all promoters, allowing these promoters to decide how best to distribute up to 50% of the tickets, and capping ticketing service fees at 15%.”
“By giving artists greater flexibility in choosing their promotional partners and ticketing strategy while also keeping the cost of a concert more affordable for fans, we are putting more power where it should be – with artists and fans.”
