Fourteen years after industry giants Live Nation and Ticketmaster came together in a blockbuster, industry-shifting merger, the Department of Justice is hoping for a curtain call. On Thursday, the DOJ and attorneys general from 29 states and the District of Columbia brought a major antitrust lawsuit against the live entertainment giant, accusing it of maintaining a monopoly over the industry and engaging in anticompetitive practices. Such conduct, the suit states, “strikes a chord precisely because the industry at stake is one that has for generations inspired, entertained, and challenged Americans.

” The DOJ’s lawsuit delves into the inner workings of the live music industry and Live Nation’s dominance, anchored by a business model the company itself has described as a “flywheel.” The DOJ runs with that term in the lawsuit, describing it in a statement as a “self-reinforcing business model that captures fees and revenue from concert fans and sponsorship, uses that revenue to lock up artists to exclusive promotion deals, and then uses its powerful cache of live content to sign venues into long term exclusive ticketing deals, thereby starting the cycle all over again.” Along with stifling competition, the DOJ claims Live Nation has tamped down on innovation when it comes to selling tickets, leaving fans in the U.

S. with “outdated technology” and higher prices than other countries. Live Nation has denied the accusations .

In a statement, Dan Wall, the company.