Live Nation has quietly taken down a blog post in which its top lawyer publicly urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) to settle its antitrust case against the promotion giant without forcing the sale of Ticketmaster.
On Thursday (Feb. 19), Live Nation head of corporate and regulatory affairs Dan Wall argued in a post titled “It’s Time to Move On” that the DOJ has already lost its legal arguments for breaking up Live Nation and Ticketmaster. But as of Friday morning (Feb. 20), that post had become a dead link on Live Nation’s site.
Live Nation reps did not return inquiries from Billboard as to why the post was deleted.
A trial is currently scheduled to begin next month in the DOJ’s blockbuster legal action — in which it was joined by dozens of state attorneys general — that seeks to reduce Live Nation’s market share across the live music industry. The lawsuit alleges that Live Nation has monopolistically impeded competition — claims the company strongly denies.
Wall’s now-deleted blog post appealed to the DOJ to enter into a “realistic, common-sense” settlement rather than take the case to trial. It was an unusual public negotiating tactic, but not the first sign that Live Nation wants a deal; Semafor recently reported that Kellyanne Conway and Mike Davis, allies of President Donald Trump, are lobbying the administration on the company’s behalf.
The crux of Wall’s post was his interpretation of a key Wednesday (Feb. 18) court ruling in the lawsuit. In that ruling, Judge Arun Subramanian held that the trial should go forward on the legality of both Ticketmaster’s exclusive venue contracts and Live Nation’s policy of “tying” its artist promotion services to shows at its amphitheaters — though he ruled there’s insufficient evidence for the DOJ’s claim that the company has broadly monopolized the national concert promotion market.
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Wall’s post argued that the ruling “undermines any serious argument for breaking up Live Nation and Ticketmaster.” He suggested the DOJ’s case has been seriously weakened now that it can no longer claim a concert promotions monopoly, and that the best path forward is a settlement that contains some “meaningful” relief without spinning off Ticketmaster.
Separately from Wall weighing in, the implications of Judge Subramanian’s Wednesday order are already being litigated in court. Live Nation’s outside lawyers filed papers on Thursday arguing that the dismissal of promotion-monopoly claims fatally dooms the tying allegations, and that the decision also should bar the DOJ from introducing evidence at trial that Live Nation allegedly threatened to withhold Live Nation acts from venues if they didn’t use Ticketmaster.
The government has been ordered to respond to these arguments by midday on Saturday (Feb. 21).
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