On Monday, with the nation’s attention focused on the war with Iran, the Justice Department’s antitrust division announced it had reached a settlement in its lawsuit against one of the country’s most hated corporations, Live Nation Entertainment, the parent company of Ticketmaster. This case was a long time in the making, as it was filed in May 2024 after the great Taylor Swift Ticketmaster ticket crush of 2022, but it was ultimately wrapped up quickly and without ceremony or consequence. Live Nation has agreed to face multiple criticisms, but has been able to retain control of Ticketmaster, which has allowed it to monopolize the live event experience in the country.
Live Nation and Ticketmaster first announced plans to merge in 2009, which would give the companies complete control of the U.S. ticket sales market and put pressure on everyone involved. At the time, Bruce Springsteen was a vocal opponent of the deal, warning that the new company would have a monopoly on event ticketing in the United States, but despite Boss’ protests, the DOJ approved the merger in 2010. In the intervening 15 years, the new company has made the experience of going to every show less painful and less profitable than it used to be. Live Nation operates most of the venues, and Ticketmaster controls access to virtually all of them. Among them. The consent decree that was part of the 2010 deal theoretically prevented Live Nation from punishing venues that didn’t sign an agreement with Ticketmaster, but in practice it’s a monopoly.
The Justice Department strengthened and extended the consent decree in 2019 after learning what Live Nation was doing. It doesn’t lead to better results for either consumers or event creators. The aforementioned Swift fiasco (Ticketmaster’s website crashing, which left millions of fans trying and failing to buy tickets to Swift’s Eras Tour tickets either unable to go to the show or having to pay scalpers through the nose – the very result that was, in theory, set up to prevent Ticketmaster’s stupid website from crashing) was necessary to get regulators to actually try and make a real case. Outrage over Ticketmaster’s mishandling of the Eras Tour led to heated Senate hearings and eventually an antitrust lawsuit. “It’s time to break up Live Nation-Ticketmaster,” then-Attorney General Merrick Garland said.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen. During the trial, which began March 2, the government revealed internal messages from Ticketmaster Slack in which executives openly boasted about taking advantage of people, saying things like “robbing blind babies,” “we do that,” “these people are so stupid, it’s a shame they take advantage,” and “undercutting the prices of the living rooms.” The DOJ reached a settlement with Live Nation on Monday rather than prolonging the trial long enough to probe its throat or uncover more evidence of wrongdoing. That agreement sucks. Live Nation, which has more than $25 billion in revenue by 2025, will have to pay $280 million. The company also agreed to several regulatory adjustments, including a 15% cap on service fees for amphitheaters owned or operated by Live Nation, partially opening its platform to competing resellers and relaxing exclusive booking agreements for 13 of the dozens of amphitheaters it owns. This case is odd, and some of the participating states may still pursue further action on their own, but with the federal government effectively backing away, the real threat to the power of the monopoly will probably go away.
The Verge published an excellent article on the details of the agreement, which experts consulted had characterized as largely insufficient. Although the adjustments may improve margins, the deal effectively amounts to a legalization of the Live Nation monopoly. Venues, artists, and people who like going to the former to see the latter still have to pass through Live Nation’s toll to reach each other. Minor adjustments to what a company can own and how it can do business will not actually do anything because the connection between the two companies still exists. Ticketmaster, for example, will see slightly less revenue thanks to the 15% commission cap. However, this cap only applies to some venues, and only those still owned by Live Nation. Live Nation has the prestige and exclusivity to make up the difference simply by charging higher ticket prices or paying artists less.
I would like to emphasize here that the Live Nation corporation is one of the most hated companies around. It is nothing more than a parasitic skimming device that sucks up other people’s sweat. Thanks to the Trump DOJ, it will continue to get worse.
