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Touring

Live Nation Antitrust Lawsuit Expected to Be Filed by DOJ on Thursday

The lawsuit is expected to charge that the concert giant has a monopoly on event ticketing through Ticketmaster.

​Live Nation Logo
Live Nation Logo

A Department of Justice lawsuit against Live Nation for violating U.S. antitrust laws is imminent and could be filed as soon as Thursday (May 23), a source with knowledge of the DOJ’s plans tells Billboard.

The lawsuit is rumored to charge that Live Nation has a monopoly on event ticketing through Ticketmaster and that it illegally uses its monopoly power to grow its business and stifle competition. The DOJ has been investigating Live Nation for more than two years. With that investigation now wrapped, company president Joe Berchtold recently said he was hopeful his company would avoid a legal showdown with the DOJ’s top antitrust lawyer, Jonathan Kanter.


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“These are always serious discussions. We wouldn’t get to this point if they didn’t have concerns, but the good news is we’re still talking and they’ve said they have an open mind,” Berchtold told attendees at the J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media and Communications conference in Boston on Tuesday (May 21).

“Without getting into the real details of the conversation, I think it’s fair to say I continue to believe that we fundamentally have business practices that are fully defensible,” Berchtold added, before continuing: “We’re also open to figuring out common ground in order to get this settled and moved on. But we don’t know exactly what they want at this point still.”

Live Nation declined to comment for this story.

The Department of Justice’s case is believed to be centered around Ticketmaster’s use of exclusive ticketing contracts when signing up venues for its ticketing services. Typically, Ticketmaster pays venues an advance on the revenue that it generates from the fees it charges consumers as part of the ticket-buying process. The longer the contract, the larger the advance Ticketmaster can pay out.

DOJ officials don’t like the practice, arguing that it locks out new companies from competing in the ticketing space. Ticketmaster officials, however, argue that they are open to working with non-exclusive contracts — both the Greek Theatre in Hollywood and Red Rocks in Denver are open facilities where promoters use the ticketing provider of their choice — but that venues often rely on exclusive deals to meet their capital needs.

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“Without getting into the real details of the conversation, I think it’s fair to say I continue to believe that we fundamentally have business practices that are fully defensible,” Berchtold added, before continuing: “We’re also open to figuring out common ground in order to get this settled and moved on. But we don’t know exactly what they want at this point still.”

Live Nation declined to comment for this story.

The Department of Justice’s case is believed to be centered around Ticketmaster’s use of exclusive ticketing contracts when signing up venues for its ticketing services. Typically, Ticketmaster pays venues an advance on the revenue that it generates from the fees it charges consumers as part of the ticket-buying process. The longer the contract, the larger the advance Ticketmaster can pay out.

DOJ officials don’t like the practice, arguing that it locks out new companies from competing in the ticketing space. Ticketmaster officials, however, argue that they are open to working with non-exclusive contracts — both the Greek Theatre in Hollywood and Red Rocks in Denver are open facilities where promoters use the ticketing provider of their choice — but that venues often rely on exclusive deals to meet their capital needs.

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This article was originally published by Billboard U.S.

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Tyler, the Creator
Luis “Panch” Perez
Tyler, the Creator
Concerts

7 Best Moments from Tyler, The Creator's Chromakopia Tour in Montreal

The Los Angeles rapper delivered a blockbuster, sold-out show at Bell Centre on Tuesday (July 22), even if it left out music from his just-released new album Don't Tap The Glass.

Tyler, The Creator played his first concert since the release of his new album Don't Tap The Glass on Tuesday (July 22) at Montreal's Bell Centre, but it was still heavily focused around CHROMAKOPIA.

The rapper is still on the tour for his critically acclaimed 2024 album, and played the second of three dates in Canada — following a stop at Rogers Arena in Vancouver back in February (Feb. 28) and ahead of his Toronto show at Scotiabank Arena (July 24). The international trek is Tyler's biggest production yet, packing out 20,000-cap arenas. CHROMAKOPIA was one of his most successful projects, landing atop the Billboard 200 and the Canadian Albums chart last year with just four days of tracking.

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