March 9 (Reuters) – Live Nation Entertainment is close to settling a federal antitrust lawsuit in a deal that would avoid the sale of its Ticketmaster unit, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing sources.
The U.S. Justice Department and more than two dozen states sued to break up Live Nation in May 2024, calling for a sale of Ticketmaster and alleging the companies illegally inflated concert ticket prices and harmed artists.
Fans and politicians intensified the call for an examination of Live Nation’s 2010 acquisition of Ticketmaster after the company subjected Taylor Swift fans to buy tickets at high prices and hours-long online queues for her 2022 Eras tour.
The trial in the case began last week after a judge in February rejected Live Nation’s bid to dismiss the lawsuit.
Some of the state attorneys general have signaled they plan to join the settlement, the Bloomberg report said, adding that a final agreement could be announced in the coming days.
If a settlement is reached, Live Nation’s Ticketmaster would drop some exclusivity in ticketing contracts with concert venues and also make some concessions around the use of its amphitheaters, which the lawsuit claims the company has monopolized, according to the report.
Live Nation has earlier called the allegations baseless and said the outcome of the trial would do nothing to lower ticket prices for fans.
Live Nation, Ticketmaster and the DOJ did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
(Reporting by Angela Christy in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy and Mrigank Dhaniwala)
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