The US Department of Justice filed a major antitrust lawsuit yesterday seeking to break up an alleged monopoly in the live music industry between concert promoter Live Nation Entertainment and its subsidiary, bookings website Ticketmaster.
The latest controversy over Ticketmaster’s dominance came when tickets for Taylor Swift’s Eras tour went on pre-sale in 2022. “While we do not comment on specific enforcement matters, President Biden strongly supports fair and robust enforcement of the antitrust laws,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.Live Nation, which merged with Ticketmaster in 2010, has grown into a US$22 billion global giant that produces more than 30,000 concerts annually for nearly 500 touring artists across its network of over 265 North American venues.
The 68-page suit described a “self-reinforcing business model” that allows it to capture huge revenues from ticket sales and then use that to lock up artists to exclusive promotion deals.