DOJ reaches settlement with Ticketmaster and parent company Live Nation over illegal monopoly

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The settlement comes as the DOJ and Live Nation Entertainment were set to dismantle the monopoly the DOJ said was squelching competition and driving up prices for fans.(Photo by Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The Department of Justice has reached a settlement with Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation Entertainment, over an alleged illegal monopoly of live music events in the U.S.

The DOJ has announced the settlement that involves multiple states. Seat Geek and StubHub will also be involved. There will be 13 amphitheaters divested from Live Nation. The company may no longer tie amphitheaters and require artists to utilize other parts of the business. Ticketmaster must offer to allow venues to strike a non-exclusive agreement.

The backstory:

Ticketmaster, which was established in 1976 and merged with Live Nation in 2010, is the world’s largest ticket seller across live music, sports, theater and more.

The settlement comes as the DOJ and Live Nation Entertainment were set to dismantle the monopoly the DOJ said was squelching competition and driving up prices for fans.

What they're saying:

"Today marks a major step in improving the concert experience for artists and fans throughout the United States. Live Nation is proud to lead the way enhancing this experience with our amphitheaters, which will be open to all promoters, allowing these promoters to decide how best to distribute up to 50% of the tickets, and capping ticketing service fees at 15%. By giving artists greater flexibility in choosing their promotional partners and ticketing strategy while also keeping the cost of a concert more affordable for fans, we are putting more power where it should be – with artists and fans," said Michael Rapino, President and CEO of Live Nation Entertainment, in a written release.

The lawsuit, filed in 2024, alleged the companies have dominated the industry by suffocating competitors and controlling everything from concert promotion to ticketing.

The DOJ accused Live Nation of engaging in a slew of practices that have allowed it to maintain a stranglehold over the live music scene and said the company uses long-term contracts to keep venues from choosing rival ticketers, blocking venues from using multiple ticket sellers and threatening venues that they could lose money and fans if they don’t choose Ticketmaster.

The terms of the settlement have not been released, but Politico reports, the agreement requires the concert giant to pay roughly $200 million in damages ​to participating states and submit to sweeping structural reforms targeting its long-criticized control of ​ticketing, venues and ⁠artist promotion. In addition, Ticketmaster would have to allow access to its ​technology platform to competing ticketing companies, allowing third-party sellers such as SeatGeek and Eventbrite to list tickets directly through its system.

Attorneys general for 39 states and plus Washington, D.C., also ​have claims against Live Nation.

Tickets to Taylor Swift's illustrious Eras Tour in the United States were nearly impossible to acquire when the tour went on sale, and it broke records on Ticketmaster. | Getty Images

The antitrust lawsuit followed a controversy when Ticketmaster's website crashed during a pre-sale event for Taylor Swift's Eras Tour in November 2022, which resulted in scalpers purchasing a significant number of tickets that were later sold at large markups on the secondary market.