Live Nation Reaches DOJ Settlement in Antitrust Case

Live Nation Entertainment Inc. has reached a settlement with federal antitrust authorities, the Justice Department said Monday, throwing a wrench mid-trial into an antitrust case that accused the company of illegally monopolizing the live music industry and sought to force a sale of its Ticketmaster subsidiary.

News of the surprise settlement angered the judge presiding over the trial along with most of the state attorneys general who joined the case, sparking a chaotic hearing with conflicting information about who had joined the settlement and how the trial will proceed.

Some details of the agreement still appear uncertain. A senior DOJ official said in a press briefing that under the terms of the agreement, Live Nation will sell at least 13 of its amphitheaters. However, another person familiar with the settlement said that Live Nation hasn’t agreed to sell venues and instead will open up all of its amphitheaters to rival promoters.

Under the settlement, Ticketmaster can no longer require that large amphitheaters and arenas use it as the exclusive ticketing company, the official said. The accord calls on Live Nation to establish a standalone ticketing technology system that rival companies can use to sell tickets to concerts alongside Ticketmaster.

Adam Gitlin, an attorney for the DC attorney general, said that more than two dozen states are opposed to the settlement and he asked the court for a mistrial.

The DOJ official said the settlement will lead directly to lower prices and there will be a 15% cap on ticket fees for tickets sold at large concert venues, the official added. The agreement also calls for the company to pay a maximum of $280 million in damages if all 39 states and the District of Columbia sign on, but that figure would be lower if fewer states join the settlement, the official said.

The Justice Department was optimistic about its chances at trial, but opted for the settlement rather than go through a lengthy process that might not result in a favorable deal, the official added.

The settlement also requires Live Nation to provide artists with data on their fans ticket purchases, information the company previously withheld, the DOJ official said.

Live Nation didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on the settlement or whether the company plans to divest amphitheaters.

In the lawsuit, Live Nation and Ticketmaster are accused of engaging in a variety of anticompetitive practices, including locking venues into long-term exclusive ticketing contracts and retaliating against rivals and venues that seek to use alternatives. The DOJ and states also said that Live Nation has monopolized the market for large, outdoor amphitheaters in the US.

Bloomberg News previously reported that the sides were nearing a settlement that wouldn’t require Live Nation to sell its Ticketmaster subsidiary.

Andrew Kline, a Justice Department lawyer, said that Live Nation and the federal government signed a binding preliminary agreement on Thursday evening. Any settlement would still need to be finalized and then reviewed by Judge Arun Subramanian.

Kline asked the court to pause the trial while the Justice Department works to create a final judgment in the case.

The DOJ has been in discussions with the states to alleviate their concerns, said the DOJ official, who estimated that there will be a double-digit number of states jointing the settlement.

DC’s Gitlin said that eight states have indicated they will join the settlement. Those include Arkansas, Iowa, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota and West Virginia — all of which have Republican attorneys general.

Four additional states with Republican AGs — Florida, Indiana, Louisiana and Texas — are still deciding. Texas said it has “concerns” about the deal, Gitlin said.

New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement that at least 25 states and DC will continue with the trial, along with New York. The settlement “fails to address the monopoly at the center of this case,” she said. “We cannot agree to it.”

Subramanian castigated the Justice Department and the states for what he said was an “entirely unacceptable” process. The judge said the parties informed him on Friday about the possibility of a settlement, but failed to disclose that a binding preliminary agreement had already been executed.

“There has been public reporting about the potential for settlement for a number of months,” the judge said. “You had the power to address it in a deliberate way, either during the trial or before the trial process and you didn’t.”

A Live Nation executive told the judge that the terms were signed Thursday evening by Michael Rapino, the company’s chief executive officer, and Omeed Assefi, the current acting head of the Justice Department, following an in-person negotiation. He said he wasn’t aware an agreement had been signed during the discussion with the judge on Friday morning.

Subramanian ordered Assefi and Rapino to appear in court before him Tuesday morning, and indicated he would be unlikely to grant the states’ request for a mistrial. Instead, he said he would likely pause the trial to allow the states to regroup and continue the case with the same jury next week.

The trial, which started in New York last week, stems from the 2024 lawsuit by the Justice Department and group of states seeking to break up the company by forcing a sale of Ticketmaster.

Live Nation has faced years of antitrust scrutiny over its 2010 acquisition of Ticketmaster, which was cleared by the Obama administration and later contested as inadequate by rivals, lawmakers and fans.

The current case was filed under the Biden administration and brought to trial this month by President Donald Trump’s Justice Department. The combined company also faced scrutiny under the first Trump administration.

Top photo: Concert-goers. Photographer: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images. Bloomberg.