ST PAUL, Minn. — Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison is one of 30 state attorneys general joining the Department of Justice in a federal anti-trust lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment, the parent company of Ticketmaster.
The suit alleges Live Nation has monopolized live entertainment, harming fans with its fees and forcing artists to use Live Nation due to its large network of venues.
“One of the major drivers of inflation in this country is corporate greed and illegal behavior — and Live Nation and Ticketmaster are prime examples,” Ellison said in a statement. “People are fed up with having no option but to fork over their hard-earned money for the high prices and hidden fees that Ticketmaster routinely charges. Live Nation’s anticompetitive behavior is to blame, because too often, consumers who just want to enjoy live entertainment have nowhere else to turn.”
"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," U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
The suit aims to prohibit Live Nation from engaging in anticompetitive practices, while also seeking an order for Live Nation to divest Ticketmaster.
Live Nation said in prepared remarks Thursday that the Justice Department's lawsuit “won’t solve the issues fans care about relating to ticket prices, service fees, and access to in-demand shows.”
Live Nation added that “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" — stating that most service fees go to venues. The company said it would defend itself “against these baseless allegations" and push for other reforms.
Live Nation has for years denied that it is violating antitrust laws and also said Thursday that competition had “steadily eroded Ticketmaster’s market share and profit margin.”
But competitor ticket sellers have long complained that Live Nation makes it difficult for them to disrupt the market with practices such as withholding acts if those venues don’t agree to use Ticketmaster’s service.
Minnesota has been at the forefront of efforts to change the live entertainment ticketing system. Earlier this month, Gov. Tim Walz signed a new law that provides Minnesota consumers with protections when buying tickets to live events, including full disclosure of all fees. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar has also led similar efforts in Congress, introducing the "Fans First Act" to address problems in the current live event ticketing system.
“The Justice Department is doing the right thing today by seeking to break up this monopoly that has long harmed fans, artists, and venues," Sen. Klobuchar said in a statement. "In addition to holding Live Nation accountable, I’ve also fought to create common sense guardrails to promote healthy competition in the ticketing market, and I will continue to work towards passing my bipartisan legislation that would do just that.”
Ticketmaster, which merged with Live Nation in 2010, is the world’s largest ticket seller. During its annual report last month, the company said Ticketmaster distributed more than 620 million tickets through its systems in 2023. However, the ticket seller sparked outrage in November 2022 when its site crashed during a presale event for a Taylor Swift stadium tour.
Around 70% of tickets for major concert venues in the U.S. are sold through Ticketmaster, according to data in a federal lawsuit filed by consumers in 2022. The company owns or controls more than 265 of North America's concert venues and dozens of top amphitheaters, according to the Justice Department.
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