US to File Law Suit Against Live Nation for Mishandling Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in 2022

The US filed a lawsuit on Thursday to break up Live Nation and Ticketmaster following the company's mishandling of Taylor Swift's Eras Tour in 2022, which resulted in skyrocketing ticket prices and hours-long online queues.

“We are not here today because Live Nation-Ticketmaster's conduct is inconvenient or frustrating. We are here because, as we allege, that conduct is anticompetitive and illegal,” US Attorney General Merrick Garland said.

“We allege that Live Nation has illegally monopolised markets across the live concert industry in the United States for far too long. It is time to break it up.”

The lawsuit is the latest aggressive action taken by the Justice Department against companies accused of engaging in monopolistic behaviour, including Apple earlier this year.

Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia joined the Justice Department in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit states that Live Nation manages over 400 music artists and owns or controls more than 265 music venues across North America. Live Nation controls approximately 60 per cent of concert promotions at major venues, while Ticketmaster dominates at least 80 per cent of the primary ticketing market for concerts at large venues.

“We allege that to sustain this dominance Live Nation relies on unlawful anticompetitive conduct to exercise its monopolistic control over the live events industry in the United States,” Garland said.

He said this results in higher ticket prices for fans, fewer venue options for artists, that smaller promoters get squeezed out, and that venues have few choices for ticketing services.

Live Nation said the lawsuit will not reduce ticket prices or service fees, and that the company is not a monopoly. The Justice Department approved TicketMaster's merger with Live Nation in 2010.

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