March 9 (UPI) — Live Nation, the company that owns Ticketmaster, has agreed to change its ticketing practices and pay $200 million in damages to settle an antitrust lawsuit by the Justice Department.
The Justice Department and Live Nation are expected to announce the settlement Monday, days after the trial began, The New York Times, Politico and Fox Business report.
The lawsuit alleged that Live Nation was using monopolistic tactics to box out competitors and control ticket prices.
As part of the agreement, Live Nation will pay $200 million to states that joined the lawsuit against the company for unfair ticketing practices. Forty state attorneys general joined the lawsuit after it was filed by the Biden administration in 2024.
Live Nation will also stop the practice of Ticketmaster holding exclusivity over venues, allowing venues to sell tickets through multiple vendors. Ticketmaster will be limited to charging 15% of a ticket’s price in fees.
Competing vendors, including third-party companies like SeatGeek and Eventbrite, will be able to sell tickets within Ticketmaster’s platform.
Artists will also no longer need to sell tickets to their concerts exclusively through Ticketmaster.
Live Nation has also agreed to divest more than 10% of its share of the nation’s amphitheaters. The lawsuit against Live Nation said it had control over about 78% of major amphitheaters. This gave Live Nation greater influence over live event ticketing and pricing.
The settlement was reached as early as Thursday. However, U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian said there was no mention of an agreement during open court on Friday.
“It shows absolute disrespect for the court, the jury and this entire process,” the judge said. “It is absolutely unacceptable.”
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