The Department of Justice is finally bringing Ticketmaster to court

The long-awaited reckoning for Live Nation and Ticketmaster is finally upon us. On Thursday morning, The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the live entertainment company, alleging that the company is a monopoly. Per Deadline, the lawsuit claims that beyond stifling competition and driving up prices for consumers, the company is punishing venues that use more than one ticketer, hindering performers’ access to venues, buying up competitors, and more.

In a statement, Attorney General Merrick Garland said, “We allege that Live Nation relies on unlawful, anticompetitive conduct to exercise its monopolistic control over the live events industry in the United States at the cost of fans, artists, smaller promoters, and venue operators. The result is that fans pay more in fees, artists have fewer opportunities to play concerts, smaller promoters get squeezed out, and venues have fewer real choices for ticketing services. It is time to break up Live Nation-Ticketmaster.”

Ticketmaster most visibly came under scrutiny after the debacle of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour ticket sales, during which the website crashed due to the high volume of demand. That incident prompted a Senate hearing led by the Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights as well as an entire Swiftie civil lawsuit. But there have been various other issues with the service regarding other artists and high-profile events (including the coronation of King Charles III).

Of course, Live Nation (which merged with Ticketmaster in 2010) has pushed back on the claims made in the suit. “The DOJ’s lawsuit won’t solve the issues fans care about relating to ticket prices, service fees, and access to in-demand shows,” a spokesperson for the company told Deadline.

The statement continued, “Calling Ticketmaster a monopoly may be a PR win for the DOJ in the short term, but it will lose in court because it ignores the basic economics of live entertainment, such as the fact that the bulk of service fees go to venues, and that competition has steadily eroded Ticketmaster’s market share and profit margin. Our growth comes from helping artists tour globally, creating lasting memories for millions of fans, and supporting local economies across the country by sustaining quality jobs. We will defend against these baseless allegations, use this opportunity to shed light on the industry, and continue to push for reforms that truly protect consumers and artists.”

The ramifications of this antitrust suit will obviously be significant in the world of live events, but the political consequences could end up being much more widespread. The entertainment industry specifically has seen a lot of consolidation and vertical integration over the last decade-plus, so a crackdown on monopolies would potentially mean a huge shakeup in Hollywood. But let’s see how this suit goes first before we start dreaming about Disney getting broken down for parts…