The Biden administration in the United States has finally filed an antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster and its parent company.
On the 23rd (local time), the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation Entertainment for violations of antitrust laws.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said at a press conference, "Live Nation relies on illegal and anti-market practices that sacrifice fans, artists, small promoters, and venue operators to maintain its monopoly position in the U.S. concert market," adding, "It is now time to break up Live Nation."
The Department of Justice's lawsuit is joined by 29 state governments including New York and the Washington D.C. judicial authorities. The complaint points out that Ticketmaster and Live Nation have engaged in anti-market practices such as inducing exclusive ticket sales contracts, threatening retaliation, acquiring potential competitors, and monopolizing venues long-term to prevent competitors from using them. These illegal actions allegedly cause fans to pay higher costs when purchasing tickets and artists to suffer from reduced concert opportunities.
According to the complaint, Live Nation, the world's largest concert promoter, controls over 250 venues in the U.S. and directly manages more than 400 artists. It also handles about 60% of major concert promotions at key venues nationwide. Currently, approximately 80% of primary ticket reservations for major entertainment events are transacted through Ticketmaster.
This is not the first time the market monopoly controversy surrounding Ticketmaster, the world's largest ticket seller, has surfaced. In 2022, after Ticketmaster exclusively sold tickets for Taylor Swift's tour concerts, causing prices to skyrocket and widespread backlash, the U.S. Congress held a separate hearing on the matter.
Live Nation acquired Ticketmaster in 2010. At that time, the Department of Justice expressed concerns about the merger but approved it under the condition that Live Nation would not take adverse actions against venues that did not use the Ticketmaster platform. CNN reported that antitrust advocates who have argued from the start that this merger was problematic are likely to support this lawsuit, noting that numerous bills have been proposed in Congress to regulate the ticketing industry. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) also reported that although the Department of Justice has not specified detailed plans for company separation, a split between Live Nation's concert promotion business and Ticketmaster is expected.
As the presidential election approaches, the Biden administration, which has been focusing on eliminating hidden junk fees, has openly pressured Ticketmaster over excessive fees. At the press conference, Attorney General Garland listed the fees Ticketmaster charges customers one by one. He said, "These include ticketing fees, service fees, convenience fees, platinum fees, per-order fees, processing fees, and payment processing fees."
On the other hand, Ticketmaster and Live Nation immediately pushed back, calling the allegations "baseless." Live Nation stated in a press release, "Most of the service fees are passed on to the venues," adding, "Calling Ticketmaster a monopoly may be a short-term public relations win for the Department of Justice, but it ignores the basic economics of the concert industry and will lose in court." They also noted that Live Nation's net profit margin for the last fiscal year was only 1.4%, "a level incomparable to the tech companies targeted by the Department of Justice."
Meanwhile, on the New York Stock Exchange, Live Nation's stock closed at $93.48 per share, down 7.81% from the previous session.
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