US jury: Ticketmaster’s parent company maintained illegal monopoly position
In the media image: William Warby on Unsplash
Live Nation Entertainment, Ticketmaster’s parent company, has been found guilty by a New York jury of violating US competition laws. In an interview Trouw newspaper, Ben Van Rompuy, Associate Professor of European Competition Law, comments on the case.
In 2024, the US Department of Justice and a coalition of 40 states launched a lawsuit against the entertainment giant. Earlier this year, Live Nation unexpectedly reached a settlement with the Department of Justice, but 34 states still proceeded with the case. This has now resulted in this significant ruling. The jury found that Live Nation had unlawfully maintained a monopoly position in the markets for ticketing services and major concert venues.
‘The biggest problem is that Live Nation uses its market power and exclusive contracts to force venues to handle everything within the Live Nation ecosystem,’ Van Rompuy says. In this way, Live Nation can require that ticket sales and the use of promotional services also run through Ticketmaster, leaving hardly any openings for other providers.
Now, a judge will determine the sanctions and the amount of damages. ‘If Ticketmaster were separated from Live Nation, competition would have more room to develop,’ Van Rompuy says. However, he does not expect the judge to impose such a severe measure so quickly. In a similar case last year, about an even stronger complaint against Alphabet, the company behind Google, the judge ruled that it did not have to sell its Chrome web browser. ‘I’d be surprised if the judge ordered a breakup this time,’ Van Rompuy adds.
Read the full article in Trouw (in Dutch)