Attorney General Raoul joins federal antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation
May 23, 2024
Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), along with a bipartisan coalition of 29 states, filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment Inc. and its subsidiary, Ticketmaster LLC. The lawsuit alleges that the company has illegally monopolized the live entertainment industry. It aims to restore competition in the live concert industry, provide better choices at lower prices for fans, and open venue doors for working musicians and other performance artists.
“Live Nation’s anticompetitive business practices have led to higher costs and fewer choices for fans seeking live entertainment in Illinois,” said Raoul. “That’s why I am joining the U.S. Department of Justice and my fellow attorneys general in filing this complaint against Live Nation. I remain committed to combating monopolies that harm consumers and undercut innovation in Illinois and across the country.”
Live Nation operates several major concert venues in Illinois, including the Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre in Tinley Park and smaller venues like House of Blues Chicago. In 2022, Ticketmaster sales reached nearly $1.5 billion for Illinois, accounting for most expenditures on live music entertainment.
The complaint, filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleges that Live Nation’s unlawful conduct has deprived music fans in the United States of ticketing innovation and forced them to use outdated technology while paying more for tickets than fans in other countries. At the same time, Live Nation exercises its power over performers, venues, and independent promoters in ways that harm competition. The company also allegedly imposes barriers to competition that limit entry and expansion of its rivals.
“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,” said U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The result is that fans pay more in fees, artists have fewer opportunities to play concerts, smaller promoters get squeezed out, and venues have fewer real choices for ticketing services. It is time to break up Live Nation.”
In their lawsuit, Raoul and the DOJ allege that Live Nation engaged in various tactics to eliminate competition:
- Locking Out Competition with Exclusionary Contracts: Long-term exclusive agreements prevent venues from considering or choosing rival ticketers or using multiple ticketers.
- Retaliating Against Potential Entrants: Financial retaliation was threatened against a firm unless it stopped one of its subsidiaries from competing.
- Threatening Venues Working with Rivals: Choosing another promoter or ticketer risks adverse reactions from Live Nation-Ticketmaster.
- Restricting Artists’ Access to Venues: Control over key venues restricts artists’ use unless they agree to use promotion services.
- Acquiring Competitors: Strategic acquisitions undermine competition.
The lawsuit seeks court intervention to prohibit Live Nation from engaging in anticompetitive practices and orders divestiture of Ticketmaster.
Live Nation Entertainment Inc., headquartered in Beverly Hills, California describes itself as “the largest live entertainment company” globally with over $22 billion annual revenue. Ticketmaster is a Virginia limited liability company also headquartered in Beverly Hills.
Attorney General Raoul joined this action alongside attorneys general from Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, D.C., Florida Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New York North Carolina Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina Tennessee Texas Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming.