In May, the Department of Justice filed a civil antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment Inc. for its monopolization of the live entertainment industry. But this isn’t the first time the DOJ has shown interest in the monopolistic actions of Live Nation.
The DOJ first began to question the potential negative impacts of a merger between the largest ticket provider in the United States and the industry’s biggest concert promoter when the merger was first proposed, noting that the combination would lead to dominance over the industry, a concern the DOJ investigated.
Beginning in January 2009, the DOJ explored whether the merger between Live Nation and Ticketmaster would violate antitrust laws and become a monopoly. Some concerns were that the merger would threaten primary ticket sales competition due to Ticketmaster having an incentive to preserve their leadership in the industry.
But the DOJ also addressed other areas of potential violations.
“At the same time, our review of the merger made us aware of the potential for foreclosure at other levels of the supply chain–that is, behavior that would prevent ‘critical inputs,’ such as artist content and promotion services, from reaching venue owners.”
After concluding that monopolistic behavior could be prevented, the DOJ implemented “behavioral remedies” to limit anticompetitive actions. These included prohibiting retaliation against any venues that work with a different primary ticket service, prohibiting mandatory bundles, and requiring the sharing of ticket data with managers and promoters.
After 14 years, one 5-year extension, and numerous allegations against Live Nation Entertainment from the media, music industry, and fans alike, it is clear the company has undermined competition.
The DOJ circling back after the initial 2010 decree demonstrates that they’ve recognized their initial mistakes and likely found more evidence against the company. Live Nation and Ticketmaster should have never been allowed to merge in 2010, and now is the time for the DOJ to rectify their mistake.
You can read the full DOJ lawsuit here: https://www.justice.gov/atr/speech/ticketmasterlive-nation-merger-review-and-consent-decree-perspective