U.S. Justice Department moves to break up Ticketmaster and Live Nation over antitrust violations

Good news for anyone who's ever found themselves in the Ticketmaster trenches: The U.S. Justice Department seeks to break up Live Nation Entertainment, Ticketmaster's parent company, over antitrust law violations.

The lawsuit, filed this morning (May 23), alleges that the music giant illegally controls a monopoly in live entertainment by engaging in long-term exclusive contracts with venues and threatening financial retribution against venues and artists who use Ticketmaster. It argues that these practices violate antitrust laws and drive up ticket prices. According to The New York Times, the lawsuit aims to break up the monopoly.

"We allege that Live Nation relies on unlawful, anticompetitive conduct to exercise its monopolistic control over the live events industry in the United States at the cost of fans, artists, smaller promoters, and venue operators," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. "The result is that fans pay more in fees, artists have fewer opportunities to play concerts, smaller promoters get squeezed out, and venues have fewer real choices for ticketing services. It is time to break up Live Nation-Ticketmaster."

Live Nation denies that its practices violate antitrust laws.

A spokesperson for Live Nation Entertainment provided the following statement to Mashable:

"The DOJ's lawsuit won't solve the issues fans care about relating to ticket prices, service fees, and access to in-demand shows. Calling Ticketmaster a monopoly may be a PR win for the DOJ in the short term, but it will lose in court because it ignores the basic economics of live entertainment, such as the fact that the bulk of service fees go to venues, and that competition has steadily eroded Ticketmaster’s market share and profit margin. Our growth comes from helping artists tour globally, creating lasting memories for millions of fans, and supporting local economies across the country by sustaining quality jobs. We will defend against these baseless allegations, use this opportunity to shed light on the industry, and continue to push for reforms that truly protect consumers and artists."

Ticketmaster, the largest ticket-selling company in the country, merged with Live Nation in 2010. At the time, Ticketmaster operated roughly 70 percent of the concert ticket market in the U.S., and Live Nation was the world's largest concert promoter.

The tides turned against Ticketmaster in 2022 when the site crashed during presale for Taylor Swift's wildly popular Eras Tour. The company said it was overwhelmed by unprecedented demand for tickets and bot attacks. But fans swiftly turned against the ticketing giant, which eventually led to the government getting involved.