Buckeye Reporter

(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — Joined by the U.S. Department of Justice and a bipartisan coalition of his colleagues, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost is suing Live Nation Entertainment Inc. and Ticketmaster, a Live Nation subsidiary, citing illegal monopolistic practices that have stifled competition and harmed consumers and businesses across the live entertainment industry.

“Ohioans deserve transparency, fair prices and vibrant competition," Yost said. "This lawsuit is a critical step toward dismantling the stranglehold that Live Nation and Ticketmaster have on the market and ensuring that consumers and businesses are no longer at their mercy.”

Live Nation has entrenched itself in live entertainment, dominating significant segments of the market through its extensive artist management, event promotion, and ticketing services, most notably through Ticketmaster, with which Live Nation merged in 2010. Live Nation also owns and operates numerous key venues, including highly sought-after amphitheaters, allowing the company to control almost every aspect of the live entertainment supply chain.

The lawsuit accuses Live Nation of engaging in illegal tactics to maintain and expand its dominance, including striking deals with fringe competitor Oak View Group to suppress competition, strategically acquiring smaller promotion competitors, locking venues into exclusive contracts with Ticketmaster, and retaliating against venues that work with rival ticketing companies or promoters. Additionally, Live Nation requires artists who perform at its venues to use Live Nation as their promoter.

These anticompetitive practices, the lawsuit maintains, have significantly harmed competition and consumers. Ohioans face higher non-transparent ticketing fees and fewer purchasing options. The lack of competition stifles innovation in ticketing services and reduces the variety and number of live entertainment events. Moreover, artists have fewer performance opportunities and restricted choices in promoters and venues while venues have limited options for ticketing services and event sourcing.

The lawsuit aims to break up the monopolistic combination of Live Nation and Ticketmaster, terminate Ticketmaster’s exclusive contracts with venues, and stop Live Nation from coercing artists into using its promotion services.

Yost is committed to fostering a competitive environment in live entertainment ensuring that consumers, artists, and venues can benefit from choice and innovation.

Joining Yost and the DOJ in the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona; Arkansas; California; Colorado; Connecticut; the District of Columbia; Florida; Illinois; Maryland; Massachusetts; Michigan; Minnesota; Nevada; New Hampshire; New Jersey; New York; North Carolina; Oklahoma; Oregon; Pennsylvania; Rhode Island; South Carolina; Tennessee; Texas Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming.

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Hannah Hundley: 614-906-9113