#Socialites, get into this: The Department of Justice (DOJ) has taken legal action against Live Nation and its subsidiary Ticketmaster, accusing them of engaging in anticompetitive behavior and establishing a monopoly over the live events industry in the United States.
The DOJ, along with 30 state and district attorneys general, made the move to file the civil antitrust lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The lawsuit alleges that Live Nation’s unlawful and anticompetitive conduct allows them to exert monopolistic control over the live events industry, resulting in higher fees for fans, limited concert opportunities for artists, and fewer ticketing options for venues.
Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement: “We allege that Live Nation relies on unlawful, anticompetitive conduct to exercise its monopolistic control over the live events industry in the United States at the cost of fans, artists, smaller promoters, and venue operators,” Garland said. “The result is that fans pay more in fees, artists have fewer opportunities to play concerts, smaller promoters get squeezed out, and venues have fewer real choices for ticketing services. It is time to break up Live Nation.”
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More On The Lawsuit:
The Justice Department believes that Live Nation and Ticketmaster has been using unfair practices to maintain their dominance in the industry.
“The flywheel is Live Nation-Ticketmaster’s self-reinforcing business model that captures fees and revenue from concert fans and sponsorship, uses that revenue to lock up artists to exclusive promotion deals, and then uses its powerful cache of live content to sign venues into long term exclusive ticketing deals, thereby starting the cycle all over again,” the Justice Department said in a statement.
What Is The DOJ Expecting Out Of This Lawsuit?
The lawsuit seeks structural relief and aims to restore competition within the live concert industry. The DOJ intends to provide fans with better choices at lower prices, while also opening venue doors for working musicians and other performance artists.
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The post DOJ Sues Ticketmaster And Owner Live Nation, Alleging An Illegal Monopoly Over Live Events In The U.S. appeared first on Hollywood Unlocked .
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