Hey, alright! Antitrust laws in the US are actually being applied! It's about time. Ticketmaster, a subsidiary of Livenation, might finally get its comeuppance. They're certainly getting their day in court. The Justice Department filed the anti-monopoly suit Thursday morning in New York.
The United States Justice Department has, as suspected, sued Live Nation Entertainment, alleging that the company, which owns Ticketmaster, holds a monopoly in the concert market. The lawsuit argues that the concert giant is breaching antitrust laws through its exclusivity contracts, threats to rivals, and leveraging of market domination over artists, resulting in inflated prices and stifled competition. "It is time to break up Live Nation-Ticketmaster," Merrick Garland, the attorney general, said in a statement.
If you're a big fan of music, or even a medium fan of music, or even a begrudging boyfriend tagging along with someone who is a small fan of music, you've been hit with the exorbitant service fees that pop up well after you've grieved your upcoming loss of money. "Well, that's $600 down the drain, but I've come to terms with the dent in my bank account," you say. But then, wait, Ticketmaster hits that subtotal with a huge asterisk. "$625?" you yell at the computer, "un-fucking-believable", and then you volunteer as a plaintiff in the USJD's upcoming litigation.
Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork:
The Justice Department filed the lawsuit in a New York court this morning (May 23), with the backing of 29 states and the District of Columbia. It cites Live Nation's multi-tentacled operation, which encompasses concert promotion, tickets, artist management, and an international venue network. Live Nation controls more than half of U.S. concert promotion at major venues, as well as some 80 percent of those venues' primary ticketing.
Looking good, guys. Now go after Amazon.
