DC, Virginia, Maryland join DOJ suit against Ticketmaster, Live Nation
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WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb announced Thursday that he’s joining the Department of Justice in a sweeping lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment for monopolizing the live entertainment industry illegally, increasing ticket prices for concertgoers in the District and nationwide.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in New York, is being brought by 30 state and district attorneys general, including Schwalb, Jason Miyares of Virginia, and Anthony Brown of Maryland. The suit alleges Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation, is conducting itself in a way that thwarts competition in markets across the industry.
“When the world’s largest live entertainment company illegally dominates ticket sales, artist management and promotion, and venue choices, fans are the ones who are hurt the most,” Brown said in a statement. “This unlawful conduct drives up prices, leaves fans with poor customer service, and limits opportunities for people’s access to live entertainment.”
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“Home to 20+ music venues, the District has a vibrant & thriving live entertainment scene that is vital to our local economy and culture. Live Nation controls almost every important part of the live entertainment industry at District venues – most notably ticketing and artists,” Schwalb wrote in a post on X.
The lawsuit seeks to “restore competition in the live concert industry, provide better choices at lower prices for fans, and open venue doors for working musicians and other performance artists,” the Justice Department stated in a news release.
“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,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement. “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-Ticketmaster.”
In a statement sent to DC News Now on Thursday, Live Nation rebutted the DOJ’s allegations.
Dan Wall, the company’s executive vice president for corporate and regulatory affairs, said the lawsuit “ignores everything that is actually responsible for higher ticket prices, from increasing production costs to artist popularity, to 24/7 online ticket scalping.”
According to the government’s 128-page complaint, Live Nation-Ticketmaster specifically eliminated competition and monopolized markets by retaliating against venues that work with rivals, blocking venues from using more than one ticketer and acquiring smaller promoters internally identified as threats, among other tactics.
“It is also absurd to claim that Live Nation and Ticketmaster are wielding monopoly power,” Wall added.
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