Concertgoers may experience mixed feelings when they hear that Live Nation has just settled an antitrust lawsuit that was first filed on May 23, 2024. A recent trial against the entertainment giant was cut short by the settlement, which attempts to address reforms to the business practices employed by Live Nation and its subsidiary Ticketmaster. 40 U.S. states and Washington D.C. joined the suit after its initial announcement.
Controversy regarding the practices of Ticketmaster and Live Nation has occurred since the 1990s. Famed alt-rock band Pearl Jam filed a lawsuit protesting Ticketmaster’s $4-$8 fees on $18-$20 concert tickets back in 1994, with these prices now seeming shockingly low in today’s world of $100+ concert tickets. These concerns still continue today, with many attorney generals and critics of the current settlement arguing that it does not go far enough to break up Live Nation’s perceived monopoly.
The details of the settlement state that, although Live Nation and Ticketmaster will not be split up, amphitheater ticket fees will be capped at 15% of the original ticket’s price, and both companies will no longer be allowed to threaten venues that use other ticket platforms. Additionally, Live Nation will have to sell 13 of its amphitheaters to competitors, one such amphitheater being Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati.
To learn more about Ticketmaster, see Feature Editor Lexxi Schmitt’s opinion, “Ineffective Presales Cause Extreme Ticket Prices” in our March Print Issue here.
