sued Ticketmaster and its parent company Thursday, accusing them of running an illegal monopoly over live events in America and asking a court to break up the system that squelches competition and drives up prices for fans.
Live Nation, which has for years denied that it is violating antitrust laws, said Thursday that the lawsuit “won’t solve the issues fans care about relating to ticket prices, service fees and access to in-demand shows.” Live Nation has also scooped up smaller promoters it viewed as a threats, officials said. Live Nation’s chief strategy officer told executives that one acquisition deal was not “super exciting” financially but felt like “more of a defensive move,” according to the complaint.
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.