Live Nation Freezes Out Venues That Ditch Ticketmaster, US Says

The U.S. Justice Department told a federal judge that Live Nation Entertainment Inc. should be broken up because it maintains its stranglehold on the live events industry, in part by freezing out venues that don’t use its Ticketmaster unit.

Venues that abandoned Ticketmaster in favor of another ticket seller lost about five concerts a year promoted by Live Nation; That meant a total loss of about $1.5 million in revenue, or more than $300,000 per event, according to the government, which sued the company in 2024.

New York’s Barclays Center was “among the venues that lost concerts as a result of the switch from Ticketmaster to a rival ticket seller,” Justice Department attorney Bonny Sweeney said at a hearing in Manhattan on Friday. He added that many venues claim Ticketmaster’s services are inferior to those offered by its competitors.

Live Nation, which merged with Ticketmaster in 2010, has denied allegations that it operates an illegal monopoly. He asked U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian to drop the government’s lawsuit or decide the case without a hearing scheduled for March 2.

After hearing arguments from both sides Friday, the judge did not say when he would rule on the company’s request.

Live Nation controls more than 265 concert venues and manages more than 400 musical artists in North America, according to the antitrust lawsuit filed by the Justice Department and nearly 30 states. Live Nation also controls about 87% of the concert ticket market and more than 65% of the concert promotion market through its Ticketmaster subsidiary, Sweeney told the judge Friday.

Live Nation attorney Andrew Gass said the government has investigated the company for years but found only eight instances in 15 years where Live Nation allegedly threatened to stop concerts if a venue changed its ticketing services. He also said the government failed to show evidence of harm created by the company’s policy requiring artists to use promotional services at venues owned by Live Nation.

The government “needs some real evidence that these customers are getting worse,” Gass said.

The Justice Department argued that artists earned less from shows at Live Nation-owned amphitheatres.

Government attorney Lorraine Van Kirk said the company instructed its employees not to increase artist guarantees — the amount of money they agreed to pay even if the concert was canceled — because they had to use Live Nation’s venues. Live Nation amphitheatres have higher venue and service fees than venues of the same size, he said, often forcing artists to lower ticket prices to avoid charging fans more.

The case is US v. Live Nation, 24-cv-3973, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York.

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