Timeline of Live Nation and Ticketmaster’s Abuses
Live Nation and Ticketmaster have a long, well-documented history of distorting the free market, undermining competition, and harming consumers and other industry actors. Here’s a brief timeline of how it came to be:
Timeline
A coalition of consumer organizations releases a joint statement saying the Justice Department has an “opportunity to protect consumers by preventing this anticompetitive merger and preserving competition and choice in the marketplace.” They warn the merger will be a “disaster” for consumers.
The Justice Department accepts the merger under conditions outlined in a consent decree, including 10 years of “tough antiretaliation provisions” to prevent abuse of its market power.
The Justice Department extends the consent decree by five and a half years after finding “numerous instances” of Live Nation Entertainment threatening venues with retaliation by withholding Live Nation promoted concerts and events if they chose not to contract with Ticketmaster.
Ticketmaster enters into an agreement with the Justice Department and pays a $10 million fine to resolve computer intrusion and fraud charges for repeatedly accessing without authorization the computer systems of a competitor.
Ticketmaster’s website crashes as fans try to purchase tickets to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. Swift’s tour promoter says Ticketmaster’s exclusive deals with most U.S. venues “required” them to choose Ticketmaster. “We didn’t have a choice,” says the promoter.
The United States Senate holds a hearing in which senators from both parties grill Live Nation Entertainment for acting as a “monopoly” that reduces competition and harms consumers.
The Justice Department and 30 state and district attorneys general file an antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment “for monopolization and other unlawful conduct that thwarts competition in markets across the live entertainment industry.”
News reports reveal that the personal information of over 500 million Ticketmaster users have been exposed in a cybersecurity breach. Ticketmaster confirms the hack days later.
Fans of Sabrina Carpenter express their outrage after Ticketmaster’s website crashes during the singer’s presale for her upcoming tour.
Fans of Adele launch a petition to address issues with the sale of tickets to Adele’s concerts in Munich, accusing Ticketmaster of “unfair, non-transparent, and exploitative treatment of early ticket buyers.”
Ten additional states join the Justice Department’s lawsuit against Live Nation, resulting in 40 total state and district attorneys general signing on to the complaint. The amended complaint alleges additional details about Live Nation’s anticompetitive conduct.