The Live Nation antitrust case will continue with a consortium of states taking over the trial after the federal government settled with the live-entertainment giant earlier this week.
On Friday, March 13, attorneys general for more than 20 states, plus Washington D.C., withdrew a previously-filed motion for a mistrial. At a hearing, Judge Arun Subramanian said the trial would pick up again Monday, March 16 (per Inner City Press). This group of states had declined to sign onto the DOJ’s settlement with Live Nation, and failed to reach their own agreements with the company after attempted negotiations this week.
Nearly 40 states, plus Washington D.C., joined the government’s suit as co-plaintiffs when Live Nation and Ticketmaster were accused of operating an illegal monopoly in 2024. (Live Nation has denied the charges.) When the government announced its settlement, a handful of states agreed to back the deal, but many AGs expressed their displeasure with terms, indicating they did not go far enough. (As of Friday, Arkansas, South Dakota, and Nebraska had formally settled, with Oklahoma, South Carolina, Iowa, and Mississippi expected to join soon.)
At a hearing on Tuesday (March 10), Judge Subramanian ordered Live Nation and the holdout states to try to reach a deal by the end of the week, but neither side seemed optimistic about reaching an agreement. Dan Wall, a top executive and the company’s old antitrust lawyer, said during the hearing that the chances of everyone reaching a deal were “about zero” because of the number of parties involved.
Subramanian also appeared to recognize the likelihood of the trial resuming. While the holdout states did file a motion requesting a mistrial and 60-day stay to give them time to take over the case, Subramanian told everyone to prepare to return to court Monday if no deal was reached. (The judge officially denied the stay request during Friday’s hearing.)
Under the terms of the DOJ’s deal, Live Nation and Ticketmaster (which merged in 2010) will have to make several changes to their business model. In ticketing, Ticketmaster has agreed to let rival companies, like SeatGeek and Eventbrite, list tickets on its platforms. The company will also start capping exclusivity contracts with venues at four years; give venues the chance to sign non-exclusive agreements so they can allot a portion of their primary tickets to other sellers; and service fees for Live Nation-owned amphitheaters will be capped at 15 percent.
As for those LN-owned amphitheaters — a huge portion of the company’s business — the company has agreed to open up those venues. That means, artists will be allowed to play them and choose their own promoter, while those promoters will be able to allocate 50 percent of tickets to their preferred retailer. (Live Nation, also the company’s biggest promoter, was accused of illegally forcing artists to use their promotion services if they wanted to play their amphitheaters.) Live Nation has also agreed to divest from its exclusive booking arrangements with 13 amphitheaters it does not own, similarly opening them up to other promoters.
Though the settlement did not include a financial penalty, Live Nation did announce that it had created a $280 million fund to be distributed to the states that signed on the DOJ agreement.
Despite these concessions, many claimed that the government’s settlement fell far short of what was necessary. New York AG Letitia James, who’s part of the consortium continuing the case, said it “fails to address the monopoly at the center of this case, and would benefit Live Nation at the expense of consumers.”
California’s Rob Bonta added, “Just in the first week of trial, we’ve already heard that Live Nation fully intended to take advantage of fans — and were able to do so because fans had no other place to go. Live Nation has manipulated the market, made itself untouchable by any competitor, and raked in the cash — not because it is better, but because it has acted illegally and created a monopoly.”
