The Department of Justice is aiming to break-up Live Nation-Ticketmaster — read our takeaways from the dense, but fascinating antitrust lawsuit.
against the live entertainment giant, accusing it of maintaining a monopoly over the industry and engaging in anticompetitive practices. Such conduct, the suit states, “strikes a chord precisely because the industry at stake is one that has for generations inspired, entertained, and challenged Americans.”
Per the DOJ, Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino voiced a complaint to Oak View Group CEO Tim Leiweke in a 2016 email after learning that Oak View had allegedly offered to promote an artist Live Nation had worked with. The suit characterizes Rapino’s message as a “warning that such competition would only lead to artists demanding more compensation.”
The DOJ detailed a similar exchange from 2022 after Live Nation allegedly learned about another Oak View promotion offer. Rapino allegedly wrote in an email, “who would be so stupid to do this and play into arms.” “Live Nation’s campaign to squash competition with TEG took place at the highest levels,” according to the complaint. “In 2021, Live Nation’s CEO complained to Oak View Group’s co-founder that TEG was ‘ull on competitors.’ Oak View Group, in turn, conveyed to Silver Lake that Live Nation was ‘not happy.
One of the Oak View co-founders allegedly “informed Live Nation that he was going to demand that Silver Lake sell TEG. Live Nation’s CEO replied, “Love ya.” After that, the DOJ said, TEG stopped promoting shows in the U.S. One example the DOJ gave is a “ticketing” fee stipulated in many Ticketmaster contracts, which allegedly allows Ticketmaster to take an additional cut when venues “increase their own fees to offset Live Nation’s concert promotion charges.” This “double-dip,” as the DOJ called it, “means venues have to raise fan-paid fees just to offset Live Nation’s promotion charges.
Then, a few days later Rapino allegedly emailed the venue’s owner, too, saying Live Nation “will be very concerned that seatgeek a secondary provider will be selling our LN artist tickets when not authorized by the artist.” Live Nation defended these deals, saying, “Competitive bidding for exclusive rights is the proven way for venues to create bidding pressure and maximize the value of their ticketing rights. In other words, exclusivity is a6. Live Nation Has Expanded Its ‘Moat’ by Acquiring Rivals and Competitors
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