When Swifties unite, there isn’t much they aren’t capable of. Dozens of Taylor Swift fans organized a Ticketmaster takedown after the ticketing site’s rollout during the 2022 Eras Tour pre-sale. The ire of a thousand Swifties launched a U.S. Department of Justice probe into Live Nation, Ticketmaster’s parent company. On Thursday (May 23), the department filed a sweeping lawsuit accusing Live Nation of violating federal antitrust laws.
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Company’s Future May Be In Jeopardy
The lawsuit, joined by 30 states, seeks to break up Live Nation’s “monopolistic control,” according to a statement from U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.
In the statement, Garland accused the California-headquartered entertainment company of relying on “unlawful, anticompetitive conduct” to control virtually every aspect of the live entertainment industry.
The lawsuit aims to “restore competition and innovation in the entertainment industry,” Garland said Thursday.
“It is time to break up Live Nation, Ticketmaster,” the U.S. attorney general said. “The American people are ready for it.”
[RELATED: Ticketmaster Explains Taylor Ticket Mess to Congress]
“No Legal Basis”: Live Nation Responds to Lawsuit
Dan Wall, Live Nation Entertainment’s executive vice president of corporate and regulatory affairs, denied the allegations Thursday in a lengthy post on the company’s website.
Additionally, Wall called the lawsuit’s monopoly claims “absurd” and “anti-business.”
“The defining feature of a monopolist is monopoly profits derived from monopoly pricing. Live Nation in no way fits the profile,” the post read. “Service charges on Ticketmaster are no higher than elsewhere, and frequently lower.”
Wall further asserted that breaking up Ticketmaster will not reduce ticket prices or service fees. In fact, the legal battle “distracts from real solutions that would decrease prices and protect fans – like letting artists cap resale prices.”
A Look at the Eras Tour Debacle
Ticketmaster garnered widespread scrutiny when its website crashed during the November 2022 Eras Tour ticket presale. Millions of users waited in delayed ticketing queues. Some were even forced to leave the “line” and start the purchasing process from scratch.
Ultimately, 2.4 million fans were able to snag tickets before Ticketmaster canceled the general public sale due to “extraordinarily high demand.”
Live Nation and Ticketmaster merged in 2010. According to CNBC News, the company now controls roughly 80 percent or more of major concert venues’ primary ticketing for concerts.
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