U.S. Justice Department to take action against Live Nation over ticketing

[BUtterfield 8 41,466]

In particular, the Justice Department is accusing Live Nation of violating terms of its settlement with the government that allowed the completion of its 2010 merger with Ticketmaster. Under the agreement, Live Nation was prohibited from forcing venues which booked its tours to use Ticketmaster as its exclusive ticketing vendor, and from retaliating when venues choose to use a ticketing competitor instead, the WSJ explains.

In recent months, the Justice Department has faced bi-partisan pressure to re-examine Live Nation’s ticketing practices. Four U.S. congressmen — three Republicans and a Democrat — recently sent a letter to the department that expressed concerns over Live Nation’s behavior. “Our constituents are facing significantly increased live event prices and a lack of meaningful alternatives to purchase tickets to live events,” the letter read.

Meanwhile, Democratic senators Richard Blumenthal and Amy Klobuchar have pubicly called on the Justice Department to investigate the state of competition in ticketing, with a particular focus on the Live Nation-Ticketmaster merger. “Live Nation’s dominance in the sector raises serious antitrust concerns. I’m glad that the Department of Justice is preparing to take action,” Senator Klobuchar said in a statement.

https://consequenceofsound.net/2019/12/justice-department-live-nation/

[Antoni 5,332]

TL;DR Version: Some venues have accused Live Nation of forcing them to use Ticketmaster for all event ticketing, which violates the legal agreement Live Nation signed with the DOJ when they took ownership of Ticketmaster 10 years ago.

** When I saw this story yesterday, it took me a few reads to understand what LN did wrong, so hopefully this helps anyone stuck in the same loop lol **

[Franch Toast 26,910]

Good. Live Nation and Ticketmaster are greedy and unethical. I can't believe Ticketmaster "scalps" its own tickets via Platinum Pricing. It's time to take action against them.