The Department of Justice is set to call for concert and ticketing giant Live Nation to be broken up, a remarkable claim in an antitrust lawsuit the department is expected to file in New York Thursday morning, a source familiar with the matter tells Rolling Stone. A DOJ suit has been one of the most anticipated potential legal actions in the live music industry since news of the regulators’ investigation first surfaced in 2022. Live Nation and Ticketmaster have faced significant scrutiny from fans, competing concert and ticketing companies, and regulators since the two companies merged in 2010, with critics saying the merger has made it difficult for other companies to compete in the live music space.
The news was first reported by Bloomberg . Frustration toward the company — and toward the ticketing marketplace as a whole — was brought back into the national spotlight following the infamous on-sale for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, which left thousands of Swifties irate due to technical difficulties and long lines as they attempted to secure tickets. The DOJ’s investigation into the company began prior to Swift’s on-sale.
This isn’t the first time the DOJ has had Live Nation in its crosshairs. The Justice Department reached a settlement with Live Nation in 2019 t o amend a consent decree the company had been beholden to since the Ticketmaster merger in 2010, extending the consent decree through 2025. As part of the initial merger deal, Live Nation was required to e.
