Live Nation appears to have reached a settlement with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) in relation to the latter’s antitrust lawsuit against the entertainment giant.
The suit, originally filed in 2024, claimed that Live Nation, parent company of Ticketmaster, has a market monopoly over the live events industry. The company owns around 460 venues globally, and at least 150 of those are located in the US. Its ticketing arm, Ticketmaster, also accounts for 80 percent of the primary ticketing market for major concert venues across the US.
The government’s suit aimed to break up the two companies and split them into smaller entities, but under the terms of the reached agreement, it’s believed they will not be split up. However, Live Nation will pay $280 million in damages to the 38 states that participated in the lawsuit, and will also sell or give up control of 13 of its US-based venues.
This comes after Judge Arun Subramanian, who oversaw the case, agreed with the DOJ’s allegation that Live Nation forces venues to sign long-term contracts with Ticketmaster or be passed over for tour bookings. Subramanian also agreed with the claim that Live Nation illegally stopped artists who use their promotion services from playing at those venues.
The exclusivity contracts that Ticketmaster has with venues will now be capped at four years, and those venues will also be given the option of non-exclusive primary ticketing contracts that will allow them to sell tickets through other platforms. Service fees will also be capped at 15 percent for Live Nation-owned venues.
The settlement hasn’t yet been finalised as a judge still needs to approve the terms of the deal.
