The Justice Department’s massive antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation on Thursday is a reflection of the widespread dissatisfaction felt by concertgoers and fans nationwide over unclear fees, ticket limitations, and subpar customer service at the company’s Ticketmaster division, which is the largest live event ticketing business in the nation.

However, according to the Department of Justice, such accusations are only a symptom of a deeper issue with Live Nation.

Attorney General Merrick Garland stated during a press conference, “We’re here not because Ticketmaster’s conduct is inconvenient or frustrating.” “We’re here because it’s against the law.”

More competition for fans and artists

The US government and thirty attorneys general from both political parties filed a lawsuit in New York, claiming that Live Nation has monopolized the live events market by controlling significant portions of every industry required to produce a successful tour.

Along with Ticketmaster, which sells tickets to fans, other value chain participants are also included in that stack, such as concert promoters who collaborate with artists to organize performances and even a large number of the venues where they perform.

According to antitrust officials, Live Nation has turned this integration into a weapon by using exclusive contracts, threats, and retaliation to stifle competition and ensure that rivals and venues behave appropriately.

According to the government, Live Nation uses these strategies to punish artists who reject the corporation and to impose outrageous costs that ultimately hurt consumers.

The cost of tickets won’t decrease.

It appears that the Justice Department agrees. Antitrust authorities are seeking for Live Nation to be broken up, arguing that doing so will upset the “flywheel” that allows the company to purportedly hold venues, artists, and users hostage.

For their part, Live Nation claims that lower ticket costs will not result from the action, even if it is successful.

The business released a statement saying, “The DOJ’s claim that Ticketmaster is a monopoly may be a short-term PR win, but it will lose in court because it ignores the basic economics of live entertainment.”

Consumer advocacy groups that supported the split are cheering on the antitrust lawsuit.

The Fan Fairness Coalition released a statement saying, “The DOJ must see this lawsuit through to the end of Live Nation-Ticketmaster in order to ensure fair competition, more access, and better service for fans and artists.”

An unclear future course

Regulators said Live Nation needs to be split up in order to resolve the situation.

In a call with reporters on Thursday, senior DOJ officials stated they are leaving their options open while the case progresses, but they won’t elaborate on how they believe a breakup should go.

There may be a further court procedure to decide what remedies are necessary if they win the complaint and convince the judge that Live Nation violated the law.

However, considering the criticism Live Nation has received in the past, a Ticketmaster spinoff could be the least likely result. In 2010, the two businesses famously combined to form a massive, vertically integrated corporation. Instead of opposing the merger at the time, the DOJ worked with Live Nation to create an agreement that required certain obligations from the combined company.

The lawsuit filed on Thursday might be seen as the DOJ’s admission that the contract was flawed from the beginning and that Live Nation hasn’t benefited from its demands.

enhanced client support

There have long been grievances regarding Live Nation and Ticketmaster. However, Taylor Swift might have been the one to raise awareness of them.

Criticism of Live Nation and Ticketmaster has escalated due to mishaps like the 2022 Taylor Swift incident, which saw millions of fans unable to get tickets for the singer’s “Eras” tour due to Ticketmaster technical issues.

Swift said on Instagram in 2022 that the Ticketmaster incident was “excruciating for me” and “pisses me off,” in response to the outcry from her followers.

Several Live Nation detractors pointed to the Swift scandal as evidence of how a lack of competition has resulted in negative effects such as poor customer service, unclear pricing, high ticketing costs, and limitations on ticket resale—what many customers refer to as “death by a thousand cuts.”

For you, what does the significant Ticketmaster lawsuit mean?

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