Live Nation and DOJ Settle Antitrust Lawsuit, State Deliberations Will Continue
As of now, the settlement will prevent Live Nation from having to sell Ticketmaster
The US Department of Justice has come to a settlement with concert giant Live Nation in the landmark antitrust lawsuit that began trial last week. This will stall a sale of Ticketmaster, but does not signal a complete end to the suit, as 38 states and Washington D.C. are also involved in the proceedings.
The settlement:
Live Nation will pay $200 million in damages to the states involved in the suit.
According to Reuters, the company will also undergo extensive structural reforms to address longstanding grievances with its dominance of ticketing, venues, and artist promotion.
One such reform will be Ticketmaster allowing competing ticketing providers such as Eventbrite and Seatgeek to use its technology.
Live Nation is pursuing a “broader, global resolution” to address all of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
The details:
The lawyers for D.C. requested a mistrial following the DOJ settlement, so the states could reconvene and adjust their claims.
The judge is reportedly considering this decision.
The DOJ settlement was apparently signed last Thursday, causing U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian to question why there was a delay in informing the court.
A lawyer for the DOJ said she was not aware a settlement had been reached.
What they said:
New York Attorney General Letitia James: "The settlement recently announced with the U.S. Department of Justice fails to address the monopoly at the center of this case, and would benefit Live Nation at the expense of consumers. We cannot agree to it.”
👋 Disclosures & Transparency Block
This article was written with information sourced from Reuters.
We covered it because the Live Nation trial is a major development for the music industry.
