Entertainment giant Live Nation is facing a class action over alleged anti-competitive conduct, and while the company filed to dismiss the case, a judge declined.
U.S. District Judge Kenly Kato issued the ruling on Monday and found that Live Nation may have violated securities laws, noting the suit contains “cogent and compelling” allegations regarding the company’s choice “not to disclose the full picture” of its success or antitrust concerns.
This is the latest news in the saga against Live Nation and its subsidiary Ticketmaster following “The Great War” presale debacle for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. The Department of Justice launched an investigation into the pair’s 2010 merger, and it was reported that federal prosecutors could sue the company for an antitrust suit by the end of 2023.
| READ: Swifties Still Fighting Ticketmaster One Year After Eras Tour Ticketing Fiasco |
Then, late last year, Live Nation and its executives were targeted in a proposed class action, which accuses the entertainment company of “issuing statements that were materially false and misleading” by failing to disclose that “Live Nation engaged in anti-competitive conduct including entering into extended restrictive contracts with artists and venues, charging high fees for its ticketing services, and retaliating against venues for working with alternative promoters or ticketing services.”
Additionally, the lawsuit said that the company officers also failed to disclose that, as a result of this alleged conduct, “Live Nation was reasonably likely to face regulatory scrutiny, fines, penalties and reputational harm.” The court found that Live Nation misled investors, saying their revenue growth was “a reflection of the quality of the Ticketmaster platform and its continued popularity with clients across the globe.”
Live Nation also claimed “Ticketmaster has a significant share of the primary ticketing services market because of the large gap that exists between the quality of the Ticketmaster system and the next best primary ticketing system.” However, this is another potentially false statement.
| READ: Live Nation Highlights Stranglehold on Industry With Record-Breaking 2023 Earnings |
SeatGeek CEO Jack Groetzinger discussed the decision by Brooklyn’s Barclays Center to switch back to Ticketmaster after just a year of using SeatGeek as its official ticketing provider. He said that the venue’s leadership was weary that Live Nation would send shows to other venues in the New York market over their own, telling a Senate Judiciary Committee that “the only way to restore competition in this industry is to break up Ticketmaster and Live Nation.”
Legislators aren’t alone; as a part of Fan Fairness Coalition’s “The Monopoly” campaign, live eventgoers have sent out more than 72,000 letters to Congress, calling for the merger to be broken-up. The FFC said the mission of The Monopoly is to remind fans that “the powerful are not incentivized to change on their own.” Additionally, a survey found that a majority of Americans want Live Nation to be broken-up.
