The Department of Justice is planning to file a major anti-trust lawsuit against Ticketmaster’s parent company, Live Nation, as soon as next month, according to a report. The litigation will accuse the country’s largest concert promoter of leveraging dominance in a way that undermines competition, The Wall Street Journal first reported on Monday, citing sources familiar with the matter. The outlet did not report on the specific allegations to be brought in the suit.
Critics at the time said the stipulations would drive-up ticket costs for consumers instead of lowering them, fearing the concert promoter Live Nation, which already owned or ran 135 major concert venues around the world at the time, would pressure those venues into exclusively using its new ticketing arm, the Journal reported.