Live Nation reached a tentative settlement with the US Justice Department on Monday in the federal antitrust case brought against the entertainment giant.
The settlement, which still requires the approval of District Judge Arun Subramanian, comes just days after the antitrust trial began in New York.
The case was initiated under then-president Joe Biden, with prosecutors accusing Live Nation — which owns Ticketmaster — a monopolist that controlled virtually all live entertainment in the United States.
The settlement requires Live Nation to open up the ticketing platform to competitors and to allow other promoters to stage events at certain Live Nation venues, a senior Justice Department official said.
Live Nation will divest up to 13 amphitheaters and pay $280 million in damages to the nearly 40 states that were parties to the antitrust lawsuit against the California-based company, the official said.
The increased competition should result in ticket prices coming down, the official said.
Live Nation shares surged nearly six percent on the New York Stock Exchange following the announcement.
Most Read in Business
“Donald Trump just betrayed every fan who’s been exploited by Ticketmaster,” Warren said. “This fine is less than one percent of Live Nation’s revenue last year. We need to break up Ticketmaster and Live Nation.”
John Kwoka, a professor of economics at Northeastern University, said the settlement appeared “inadequate.”
“It does not deal with the fact that Ticketmaster is still an integrated company that has incentives that remain pretty much intact to disadvantage competitors,” Kwoka said.
“This is a minor accomplishment in the face of what the Justice Department laid out as a course of business,” he said.
