Live Nation Entertainment may face an antitrust lawsuit from the Justice Department as soon as next month, The Wall Street Journal reports. The agency began investigating the Ticketmaster parent for potential abuses of power in 2022, amid outcry over various ticketing failures for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. The lawsuit would allege that Live Nation’s concert promotion and ticketing operations have undermined competition in the live music market, The Journal reports, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The current investigation is the latest, and deepest, in a string of inquiries into Live Nation practice since the company merged with Ticketmaster in 2010. At issue are allegations of high fees, flawed customer service, and unfair leverage of market dominance, all of which pre-date the Eras Tour debacle.
Ticketmaster now holds more than 80 percent the primary ticket sales market in the biggest U.S. venues, The Wall Street Journal reports. Ticketmaster denies holding a monopoly, and a spokesperson told The Journal that the company has more competition than ever. Live Nation’s head of corporate affairs, Dan Wall, added in a statement to The Journal, “If you have to hone in on one slice of the market in order to allege a monopoly, then there isn’t one.”