Ticketmaster parent Live Nation faces potential – Business News
Ticketmaster parent Live Nation faces a potential antitrust reckoning as a landmark case accusing the music giant of working an unlawful monopoly over the dwell music industry kicks off in Manhattan federal courtroom.
Jury choice started Monday within the civil case, which is predicted to final about six weeks. The Justice Department and a coalition of state attorneys normal allege that the 2010 merger between Ticketmaster and Live Nation has stacked the deck towards opponents and led to exorbitant sky-high ticket costs for Taylor Swift followers and different numerous different concertgoers.
Live Nation bigwigs Michael Rapino and Joe Berchtold and every anticipated to testify during the trial, as are President Trump ally Kid Rock and music industry honchos like Irving Azoff and Louis Messina – the latter of which runs the company that oversees Swift’s ultra-lucrative tours.
Ticket costs for Taylor Swift followers and different numerous different concertgoers are sky-high due to the Live Nation, Ticketmaster merger, in response to the DOJ. AP
From the sports activities world, executives from the Brooklyn Nets and Dallas Cowboys are additionally anticipated to testify about their experiences, together with claims that Live Nation forces area operators to make use of Ticketmaster or risk dropping entry to its live shows.
The case might have main ramifications for the music industry and will even end in a breakup of Live Nation if jurors finally aspect towards the company. The company may be ordered to pay damages to shoppers in numerous states.
The case is shifting ahead for now regardless of a weekslong scramble by Live Nation to settle the case earlier than it might go to courtroom. DOJ officers rejected a number of efforts by Live Nation to succeed in an settlement – although a deal might nonetheless be struck during or after the trial, Bloomberg reported.
The DOJ will make its arguments during a period of inside upheaval that included the latest exit of antitrust chief Gail Slater, who resigned final month amid reported infighting over how the company ought to deal with key instances, together with Live Nation.
Live Nation has stated it isn’t liable for surging ticket costs and has laid the blame partly on online ticket scalpers who snap up seats and resell them at a markup.
“The claim that Live Nation and Ticketmaster are responsible for high concert ticket prices and fees was, and is, false,” Live Nation govt vice president of regulatory affairs Dan Wall stated in a latest assertion.
The two ticketing firms merged in 2010. REUTERS
Last month, US District Judge Arun Subramanian shut down a request by Live Nation to dismiss the lawsuit.
The DOJ case is only one headache for Live Nation, which faces a separate bombshell lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission. That lawsuit accuses Live Nation of turning a blind eye to bots that resell hundreds of thousands of tickets online.
The company has additionally confronted heat on Capitol Hill, with Sen. Marsha Blackburn not too long ago blasting Live Nation for what she known as a “very insufficient” response to the bot allegations.
Kid Rock testifies on the associated fee of live performance tickets earlier than a Senate listening to on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on January 28, 2026. REUTERS
Bringing down ticket costs has been a pet challenge for Trump, who issued an govt order final 12 months asking the FTC to look into the issue.
Ticketmaster controls a large share – up to 70% to 80%, in response to some consultants – of the first ticket sale market.
