DOJ Announces Filing of Amended Live Nation Consent Decree

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced that the Amended Final Judgement extending and modifying Live Nation’s 2010 consent decree has been entered by the court, which also set the procedure an Independent Monitoring Trustee required in the agreement, which is now valid through 2025.

“Live Nation broke the promises they made to the court and the American people when they merged with Ticketmaster in 2010; today, we are holding them accountable,” Antitrust Division Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim said in a release.  “The amended decree reimburses the American people millions of dollars and makes it easier for the Antitrust Division and state enforcers to identify and prosecute future transgressions.”

Characterized as “significant changes” to an agreement that Live Nation originally agreed to as part of its merger with Ticketmaster, the Amended Final judgement lays out disciplinary action for any future violations from Live Nation, establishes compliance training, and requires the entertainment giant to provide customers with a copy of the Amended Final Judgment. It does not, however, include any changes to the decree related to technology developed by the promotional and ticketing giant that many have argued are designed to stifle competition in the secondary ticketing

The decree’s extension came as a result of a Department of Justice investigation into Live Nation, which found multiple violations of the legal agreement in the past decade. Public court filings from the DOJ cited the entertainment empire using threats towards venues to ensure potential clients used Ticketmaster as their ticketing vendor.

“Consumers looking to purchase tickets to concerts or live events are facing increasing sticker shock with little to no alternative to Ticketmaster,” Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich said in a statement issued when the Amended Final Judgement was filed with the court. “We must take all necessary steps to enforce the 2010 consent decree and ensure competition to protect consumers from excessive fees and runaway hidden costs.”