The US Department of Justice expected to be filed an antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation, the parent company of Ticketmaster, which could be a major blow to the biggest player in live music. Whether brought because of the effects from the taylor swift ticket fiasco or is the last move in a more aggressive antitrust strategyan antitrust case against Live Nation could be an opportunity to challenge a monopoly that has hurt artists and consumers for 15 years, says John Kwoka, the Neal F. Finnegan Distinguished Professor of Economics at Northeastern University.
It's also an opportunity for the Justice Department to correct its own past mistakes, Kwoka says. “The Department of Justice, many of us believed, made a mistake in not preventing the merger [between Live Nation and Ticketmaster] first, and in some ways what we've seen for 15 years is the logical consequence of not preventing the merger,” Kwoka says. “Now we are faced with the need to deal with the problems of past political mistakes. It's good for them to be willing to do this in the face of ongoing complaints, but it's going to be a tough ask, tougher than stopping the merger in the first place.”
This is far from the first time the Justice Department has tried to rein in Live Nation after the merger. In 2019, the Ministry of Justice revised his consent decree against Live Nation to prevent the company from retaliating against venues that use competing ticketing services. But there are ongoing lawsuits alleging that Live Nation Entertainment forces venues not only to use Ticketmaster but also to boycott competing ticketing platforms.