Live Nation, which owns Ticketmaster, has reached a surprise settlement with the Department of Justice in its antitrust case just one week after the trial began.
Under the agreement, Live Nation will create a $280m settlement fund for states that participated in the lawsuit and Ticketmaster will be required to open parts of its platform to rival ticketing companies, Live Nation announced on Monday.
The agreement also will require Live Nation to divest from exclusive booking agreements it has with 13 amphitheaters in the US and cap service fees at 15% of the ticket price. The agreement also limits long-term exclusivity contracts utilized by Ticketmaster when partnering with venues.
An attorney for New York state told jurors last week that Ticketmaster keeps an average of $7.58 of the price of each ticket for events at major concert venues, claiming the concert ticket conglomerate dominates live-event markets, harming artists, venues and fans.
The justice department was set to argue that Live Nation holds illegal monopolies in certain ticketing and venue markets and that Ticketmaster dominates ticketing services through threats and multi-year exclusive contracts with venues.
In a statement, Live Nation said it was pleased to announce the settlement of the lawsuit.
“Today marks a major step in improving the concert experience for artists and fans throughout the United States,” said Michael Rapino, president and CEO of Live Nation Entertainment, in a statement. “By giving artists greater flexibility in choosing their promotional partners and ticketing strategy while also keeping the cost of a concert more affordable for fans, we are putting more power where it should be – with artists and fans.”
The lawsuit includes attorneys general from 30 states, including California, Massachusetts, Utah and Wyoming. Since the settlement was announced, a bipartisan group of attorneys general said they will refuse to accept the terms of the settlement, arguing it doesn’t rectify Live Nation’s dominance over the ticketing industry, suggesting they may pursue a new trial of their own.
“The settlement recently announced with the US Department of Justice fails to address the monopoly at the center of this case, and would benefit Live Nation at the expense of consumers. We cannot agree to it,” Letitia James, the New York state attorney general, said in a statement. “My attorney general colleagues and I have a strong case against Live Nation, and we will continue our lawsuit to protect consumers and restore fair competition to the live entertainment industry.”
