Live Nation, which owns Ticketmaster, reached a surprise settlement with the Justice Department in its antitrust case just a week after the trial began.
The settlement was announced during a court hearing Monday morning. Under the settlement, Live Nation will pay approximately $200 million in damages to the states that participated in the lawsuit, and Ticketmaster will have to open parts of its platform to rival ticketing companies, Politico reported.
The deal will also require Ticketmaster to divest some of the amphitheaters it owns and cap service fees for its venues at 15% of the ticket price. The agreement also limits long-term exclusivity contracts used by Ticketmaster when partnering with venues.
The full terms of the agreement have not been publicly confirmed and a judge still needs to approve the terms of the agreement.
A New York state attorney told jurors last week that Ticketmaster takes an average of $7.58 off the price of each event ticket at major concert venues, alleging that the concert ticket conglomerate dominates live event markets, harming artists, venues and fans.
The Justice Department set out to argue that Live Nation has illegal monopolies in certain ticketing markets and venues and that Ticketmaster dominates ticketing services through threats and exclusive multi-year contracts with venues.
The lawsuit includes attorneys general from 30 states, including California, Massachusetts, Utah and Wyoming. Ten of these attorneys general agreed to the deal, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
Letitia James, attorney general of New York state, criticized the agreement and refused to accept it.
“The recently announced settlement with the US Department of Justice does not address the monopoly at the heart of this case, and would benefit Live Nation at the expense of consumers. We cannot accept it,” James said in a statement. “My attorney general colleagues and I have a strong case against Live Nation and will continue our lawsuit to protect consumers and restore fair competition to the live entertainment industry.”
Live Nation and Ticketmaster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
