Whew! Roommates, the Division of Justice isn’t taking part in any video games with Ticketmaster and its dad or mum firm, Stay Nation. On Thursday (Could 23), the DOJ filed an antitrust lawsuit in opposition to each events. Apparently, the federal government entity is accusing them of working an “unlawful monopoly” over dwell occasions in the USA.
The lawsuit alleges each firms have been squashing competitors and subsequently driving up ticket costs for purchasers.
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Ticketmaster & Stay Nation Lawsuit Particulars
Thirty state and district attorneys common filed the docs in federal courtroom in Manhattan, per The Associated Press. The lawsuit goals to interrupt up the chokehold, which they are saying is squeezing out smaller promoters, hurting artists, and drowning followers with limitless charges.
“It’s time for followers and artists to cease paying the value for Stay Nation’s monopoly,” U.S. Lawyer Common Merrick Garland mentioned Thursday. “It’s time to restore competitors and innovation within the leisure trade. It’s time to break up Stay Nation, Ticketmaster. The American individuals are prepared for it.”
The Justice Division accused Stay Nation of a slew of techniques, together with threats and retaliation. Garland mentioned these techniques have allowed the leisure big to “suffocate the competitors” by holding a stronghold on nearly each facet of the trade, from live performance promotion to ticketing.
Moreover, the legal professional common mentioned the impression on customers is seen in an “limitless listing of charges on followers.”
“Stay music shouldn’t be accessible solely to those that can afford to pay the Ticketmaster tax,” mentioned Assistant Lawyer Common Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Division’s Antitrust Division. “We’re right here at this time to combat for competitors in order that we are able to reopen the doorways to the dwell music trade for all.”
The Justice Division mentioned Stay Nation’s anti-competitive practices embrace utilizing long-term contracts to maintain venues from selecting rival ticketers, blocking venues from utilizing a number of ticket sellers, and threatening venues that they might lose cash and followers in the event that they don’t select Ticketmaster.
Additonally, Stay Nation allegedly threatened to retaliate in opposition to one agency if it didn’t cease a subsidiary from competing for artist promotion contracts.
Stay Nation Responds To Lawsuit
In the meantime, dad or mum firm Stay Nation has years denied that it’s violating antitrust legal guidelines, per AP. After the DOJ filed its lawsuit, Stay Nation reportedly gave a lil’ spicy response. The corporate mentioned suing them “gained’t resolve the problems followers care about regarding ticket costs, service charges, and entry to in-demand reveals.”
“Calling Ticketmaster a monopoly could also be a PR win for the DOJ within the brief time period, however it is going to lose in courtroom as a result of it ignores the fundamental economics of dwell leisure,” Stay Nation mentioned
Stay Nation claimed that the majority service charges go to venues and that outdoors competitors has “steadily eroded” Ticketmaster’s market share. The corporate mentioned it might defend itself “in opposition to these baseless allegations” and push for different reforms.
Ticketmaster is reportedly the world’s largest ticket vendor. The corporate merged with Stay Nation in 2010. Throughout its annual report final month, Ticketmaster mentioned it distributed greater than 620 million tickets by its techniques in 2023.
In line with knowledge in a federal lawsuit filed by customers in 2022, round 70% of tickets for main live performance venues within the U.S. are bought by Ticketmaster.
The corporate allegedly owns or controls greater than 265 of North America’s live performance venues and dozens of prime amphitheaters.
🚨🇺🇸DOJ: TICKETMASTER HAS RIPPED YOU OFF
“We allege that Stay Nation has illegally monopolized markets throughout the dwell live performance trade in the USA for a lot too lengthy.
It’s time to break it up.”
Supply: MSNBC https://t.co/tyo3D8ihTa pic.twitter.com/Mkcc2aGbMo
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) May 23, 2024
Related Press employees Alanna Durkin, Wyatte Grantham-Phillips, Michelle Chapman, and Maria Sherman contributed to this report.
