US Government Might Break Up Live Nation Giant • Hollywood Unlocked

The U.S. Department of Justice and a coalition of states are set to sue Live Nation Entertainment, possibly seeking a company breakup.

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Ticketmaster had been under investigation after the chaotic ticket sales for Taylor Swift’s tour plus the public outcry from concertgoers and government officials of a re-examination of the 2010 Live-Nation merger. Reuters reported that the lawsuit is expected to be filed in the Southern District of New York on Thursday, two years after Live Nation faced scrutiny over the mishandled ticket sales from Swift’s concert.

There were reports of concertgoers being overwhelmed with the process, leading to canceled sale plans and extensive wait times of up to eight hours for potential buyers. Many fans were reportedly dropped from the online queue. Ticketmaster attributed the issues to bots and scalpers but faced criticism for high prices and poor service.

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In January 2023, U.S. senators convened a hearing following the ticket sales debacle, criticizing Live Nation’s lack of transparency and failure to prevent bot purchases. Additionally, the possible lawsuit could range from asking Live Nation to cease illegal practices to requesting a court-ordered company breakup. However, the latter could be a rare but possible outcome.

This legal action follows the DOJ’s conditional approval of the 2010 Live Nation-Ticketmaster merger, which was intended to prevent anti-competitive behavior. In 2020, the court extended most of its oversight of the merger to 2025 due to Ticketmaster’s retaliatory actions against venues using other ticketing services.