justice department

Ticketmaster & Live Nation Sued By Justice Department For Exploitative Monopoly

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News broke earlier this year of a massive antitrust lawsuit from the Justice Department against Ticketmaster and, by extension, its parent company Live Nation. On Thursday (May 23), the governmental organization officially filed its suit against the entertainment conglomerates, accusing them of an illegal monopoly over live events in the U.S. that aggressively stifles competition and inflates fees and ticket prices. Moreover, authorities comprising 30 state and district attorneys general filed the lawsuit in Manhattan federal court. It aims to dismantle the alleged monopoly for the benefit of artists and promoters suffering at its hands.

“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,” a statement from Attorney General Merrick Garland read. “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.” This is not the only legal move that Live Nation is reckoning with right now, considering other debacles like the Astroworld tragedy.

Read More: Kanye West Still Planning World Tour Despite Live Nation Boycott

The Justice Department Sues Live Nation & Ticketmaster

Nevertheless, the Justice Department pointed to long-term venue contracts, blocking venues from using other sellers, and threatening venues to use their service as ways in which Ticketmaster unrightfully exerted or held their power over live U.S. events. Live Nation has continually denied any violations of antitrust laws. They cited “the large gap that exists between the quality of the Ticketmaster system and the next best primary ticketing system” as the explanation for its dominance in the market back when federal investigations bubbled up in 2022. However, the service’s competition claimed that they make market disruption impossible through, for example, threatening to withhold performers if venues don’t partner with Ticketmaster.

“Today’s action is a step forward in making this era of live music more accessible for the fans, the artists, and the industry that supports them,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. This joins other antitrust initiatives amid the Biden administration, including lawsuits and legal action against Apple, Google, Amazon, and more. Ticketmaster accounts for 70% of major venue ticket sales in the U.S., according to a 2022 federal lawsuit data. In 2019, the Justice Department found Live Nation liable for violating an agreement to not retaliate against venues using other ticketing services, which was established when it merged with Ticketmaster in 2010.

Read More: Live Nation Sued By Stagehand For The Weeknd

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Breonna Taylor Investigation By Justice Dept. Finds Pattern Of Discriminatory Policing In Louisville

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US Attorney General Merrick Garland has confirmed that there exists a pattern of discriminatory policing practices in the city of Louisville, Kentucky. He announced in a press conference on Wednesday that a Justice Department report found the Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government and Louisville Metro Police Department “engage in a pattern or practice of conduct that deprives people of their rights under the Constitution and federal law.” The department launched the investigation in response to the killing of Breonna Taylor in 2020.

“This conduct is unacceptable, it is heartbreaking,” Garland said. “It erodes the community trust necessary for effective policing and it is an affront to the vast majority of officers who put their lives on the line every day to serve Louisville with honor.”

Merrick Garland’s Announcement

US Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks during a press conference on the Justice Department’s findings of the civil rights investigation into the Louisville Metro Police Department and Louisville Metro Government on March 8, 2023, in Louisville, Kentucky. – The investigation stems from the March 13, 2020, killing of Breonna Taylor by police officers serving a no-knock warrant. (Photo by LUKE SHARRETT / AFP) (Photo by LUKE SHARRETT/AFP via Getty Images)

The report states that the Louisville police department “discriminates against Black people in its enforcement activities.” It also uses excessive force and conducts searches based on invalid warrants. The report further cites violations of the rights of people engaged in protected speech in reference to protests in the city in the summer of 2020 after Taylor’s death. Police shot and killed the 26-year-old during a raid on her apartment after midnight on March 13, 2020.

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said the city still “has wounds” that have yet to heal. We have to come to terms with where we’ve been, so we can get to where we want to be.” An attorney for the family of Breonna Taylor, Sam Aguiar, said in a statement responding to the news: “The department has damaged so many lives with little to no accountability. And our local prosecutors have not done a damn thing to assure that criminals with badges are treated like the criminals that they are.”

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