US Justice Department to Seek Breakup of Live Nation-Ticketmaster

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Bloomberg

May 22, 2024 at 6:21 PM EDT
Updated on May 22, 2024 at 6:41 PM EDT


The US Justice Department and a group of states will sue Live Nation Entertainment Inc. for antitrust violations related to Ticketmaster’s unrivaled control of concert ticket sales, according to people familiar with the case.

The suit is expected to be filed in the Southern District of New York Thursday, said the people who asked not to be identified. The dispute will seek remedies including breaking up Live Nation, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing confidential information.

Live Nation shares dropped by 10% in late trading following Bloomberg’s report on the Justice Department’s planned lawsuit. The Justice Department declined to comment. Live Nation didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

The move is the latest antitrust suit pursued by the Biden administration, which has made competition a key component of its economic policy, bringing cases against companies including Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Amazon.com Inc.

Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-05-22/justice-department-to-seek-breakup-of-live-nation-ticketmaster

[unblock]

1. Yes! About Fing time, too!

[getagrip_already]

2. wait a minute - let me check my worry locker.....

Shuffle, shuffle, bang, rustle, grunt, flip, flip, flip.

Nope, nothing in there about ticketmaster or live nation. You may proceed.

Damn, there is a lot of crap in there I had forgotten about, now I need a drink.

[LiberalFighter]

3. I have never used them. But then again...

I don't do concerts.

I've only been to one concert in my life. In the early 1970s. It was REO Speedwagon.

[JoseBalow]

6. '"It was REO Speedwagon"

Ah, no wonder...

[Ligyron]

7. Bwahaha!

Roll with the changes!

[IronLionZion]

9. You saw REO Speedwagon and thought Time for me to fly

Take it on the run

[LeftInTX]

12. We saw the Rolling Stones in 2021 and used them. Ugh... their service was horrible.

Before that, the last concert I went to was David Bowie in 2083.

Seeing the Rolling Stones was worth it, but dealing with TIcket Master was a nightmare. We didn't know if we would have seats or not. It turns out everyone was two tiers of general admission, ( a front section and a back section) but they didn't tell us. Even though we selected seats, they never gave us numbers. The concert was outdoors.

[NanaCat]

13. 2083?

Was there even a habitable Earth then?

[LeftInTX]

14. Oops 1983

[truthisfreedom]

4. Don't screw with Taylor Swift

Pretty sure that’s what triggered the interest in finally taking action against these vampires.

[IronLionZion]

10. Yes, tickets can be thousands more here than in Europe

so Americans have flown to Europe to see her concerts.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taylor_Swift%E2%80%93Ticketmaster_controversy

[AllyCat]

5. Good! What a joke they are.

Cannot buy anything without huge fees to them. They add no value.

[erodriguez]

8. Ticketmaster is a scourge

One example:

Monster Jam was in town for my kid's birthday. So I decided to get tickets for them and their friends. 8 tickets in total. The listed price was $15 which totaled a lot considering I was buying so many. I figured it would be almost with fees and tax.

When I went to check out it was about $400. The fees cost more than the ticket Then tax on top.

I told my kid. Sorry no Monster Trucks. But then I checked directly with the venue. I could avoid the fees and the tax if I bought enough for the group rate, 10 tickets.

I paid $150 total.

Fuck Ticketmaster.

[HandmaidsTaleUntold]

11. Finally