The US sues Ticketmaster for illegal monopoly on ticket sales

The US Government on Thursday denounced the company Live Nation, owner of the Ticketmaster ticket sales portal, with the aim of ending the illegal monopoly that, according to the accusation, the company has exercised in recent years.

The Justice Department, along with 30 state and district attorneys general, filed a civil antitrust lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York for “monopolization and other unlawful conduct that frustrates competition in the markets.” “.

The US attorney general, Merrick Garland, assured that the lawsuit is not motivated by “exorbitant fees and technological failures” imposed by the company, but because the company’s practices are “anti-competitive and illegal.”

Garland stated that the company “blocks competition and ticket sales by using exclusive sales contracts” that can last more than a decade and also by acquiring its own venues, among other practices.

Live Nation controls at least 80% of ticket sales at major concert venues; directly manages more than 400 artists; controls more than 60% of concert promotions nationwide and owns or controls more than 60% of the major amphitheaters in the United States, Garland claims.

This situation, adds the prosecutor, results in “fans paying more” and “artists having fewer opportunities to play at concerts”, while “smaller promoters are excluded and venues have fewer real options for sales services.” of tickets”.

Specifically, the lawsuit alleges that Live Nation-Ticketmaster violates Section 2 of the Sherman Act, which prohibits conspiracies that unreasonably restrain trade and agreements among competitors to fix prices or wages, rig bids, or allocate customers, workers, or markets.