“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,” the statement continued. “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.”
The 128-page complaint lays out a litany of allegedly anticompetitive conduct designed to punish, scoop up or block any challenger to the dominance of Live Nation’s promotion business and Ticketmaster’s ticketing juggernaut, such as by preventing venues from turning to more than one promoter or ticketing service and by permitting artists to use company venues only if they agree to use Live Nation’s promotion services.
“Live Nation directly manages more than 400 musical artists and, in total, controls around 60% of concert promotions at major concert venues across the country. Live Nation also owns or controls more than 265 concert venues in North America, including more than 60 of the top 100 amphitheaters in the United States,” the DOJ said. “For comparison, its closest rival owns no more than a handful of top amphitheaters. And, of course, through Ticketmaster, Live Nation controls roughly 80% or more of major concert venues’ primary ticketing for concerts and a growing share of ticket resales in the secondary market.”
