Live Nation settles with DOJ in deal that seeks to avert breakup with Ticketmaster

• 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.

Under the terms of the settlement, Live Nation would divest of some amphitheaters and open its ticketing service to competitors, a senior Justice Department official said.

The deal comes just one week into a civil trial in Manhattan that alleged the nation's largest primary ticket seller and a major owner and operator of concert venues was an illegal monopoly.

Attorneys for the federal government, plus 39 states and the District of Columbia, had pushed to dismantle the company, arguing that the combination of the ticketing arm with the concert promoter drove up ticket prices for fans of live music, sports events, and theater.

Live Nation has argued that concert ticket prices are relatively low, especially compared to those for sporting events.

The trial is on hold as the surviving plaintiffs — the attorneys general for the states and DC — plan to return to court next week to present their case.

The DOJ and a bipartisan group of state attorneys general alleged that Live Nation Entertainment used its massive network of partnerships with some 400 top-tier artists and close to 300 arenas and concert venues across North America to suppress competition.

In opening statements last week in a Manhattan federal courthouse, Assistant US Attorney David Dahlquist pointed to Ticketmaster's 2022 Taylor Swift Eras tour crash as evidence that a lack of competition allowed Live Nation to saddle fans, artists, and venues with shoddy service.

Live Nation attorney David R. Marriott called Ticketmaster "the highest quality product that there is on this planet in terms of delivering quality ticketing services" in his opening remarks.