By litaliano@insider.com (Laura Italiano,Natalie Musumeci), Insider | Two years after the Biden administration’s Department of Justice sued to split Ticketmaster from parent company Live Nation, Trump’s DOJ is taking the massive antitrust case to trial.
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Lawyers for the government, plus 39 states and the District of Columbia, are seeking to break up what they call an illegal monopoly that drives up ticket prices for fans of live music, sports, and theater.
At issue is the 2010 merger of Live Nation — the world’s largest concert promoter and a major venue operator — with Ticketmaster, the largest ticket provider.
The DOJ and a bipartisan group of state attorneys general say the combined company, Live Nation Entertainment, squelches competition through its partnerships with some 400 top-tier artists and nearly 300 arenas and concert venues across North America.
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Live Nation has settled with the Department of Justice in a high-profile antitrust case.
- The DOJ had sued to split Ticketmaster from Live Nation over monopoly concerns.
- The deal seeks to open the ticketing-and-concert-promotions giant to competition in other ways.
- Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation, have reached a settlement with the Department of Justice that would allow the entertainment giant to remain intact.
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Go here to read more:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/live-nation-reaches-a-settlement-with-doj-in-the-midst-of-an-antitrust-trial/
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USA vs. Live Nation Is Over: DOJ’s Case Abruptly Settled — With Some Very Important Concessions
By Paul Resnikoff, Digital Music News
The U.S. Department of Justice’s case against Live Nation has abruptly been settled, according to a raft of details circulating this morning and conditionally confirmed to DMN.
For months, sources to Digital Music News had indicated — even promised — that USA v. Live Nation would never head to trial, thanks to a feverish, late-stage settlement discussions between the concert giant and the feds. Live Nation failed to toss the case, but a trimmed-down list of legal issues also weighted in Live Nation’s favor.
Now, a settlement has apparently been released, according to multiple reports and sources this morning, with Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino credited with hammering out the final terms late last week directly with the DOJ.
Importantly, this settlement doesn’t automatically retire state-led actions, and it appears that multiple states, including New York, will be moving forward with their own actions — potentially at a more aggressive pace.
Here’s a quick summary of what this deal looks like (subject to change and confirmation, of course).
First and foremost: Live Nation and Ticketmaster won’t be broken up.
Live Nation has successfully avoided being split from Ticketmaster, maintaining its crtical ‘flywheel’ business model despite the government’s original discussion of dismantling the merger. Incidentally, a breakup appeared far less likely heading into the start of the trial, and maintaining the post-merger combination of Live Nation+Ticketmaster easily represents the biggest win here.
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Read the full settlement details here:
https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2026/03/09/usa-vs-live-nation-over-case-settled/