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An additional 10 Attorneys General from states across the US have signed onto the Department of Justice’s Live Nation-Ticketmaster antitrust lawsuit.
The news means that Attorneys General from 39 states and the District of Columbia have now signed the antitrust lawsuit. The 10 additional states include Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, Utah and Vermont.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Manhattan in May, and was originally brought with 30 state and district Attorneys General. It followed an 18-month investigation, with the lawsuit alleging “monopolisation and other unlawful conduct” to deter competition. The case is centred around Ticketmaster’s use of exclusive ticketing contracts when signing up venues for its ticketing services.
Additionally, the DOJ filed a new complaint in the Southern District of New York. The amended complaint alleges further details about Live Nation-Ticketmaster’s ‘anticompetitive course of conduct in markets across the live entertainment industry’.
A Live Nation Entertainment spokesperson responded: “There is nothing new in the amended complaint – the lawsuit still won’t solve the issues fans care about relating to ticket prices, service fees, and access to in-demand shows. We look forward to sharing more facts as the case progresses.”
In response to the additional signatories, Fan Fairness Coalition (FFC) Mark Meador commented: “Democrats, Republicans and independents have all been ripped off by Ticketmaster’s monopoly and today’s news demonstrates the bipartisan momentum behind the Department of Justice’s antitrust lawsuit against them.
“Live event fans across America are applauding this bipartisan effort to hold Ticketmaster accountable for years of anti-competitive behaviour that’s driven up costs, undermined access to tickets and resulted in several disastrous ticket sale rollouts.”
The FFC is a bipartisan non-profit organisation that aims to support live music and sports fans, and provide a platform for disgruntled consumers around the purchase of tickets.
“The DOJ and 40 Attorneys General across America are doing the right thing to restore free market competition to the ticketing industry to protect fans from continued abuse at the hands of Ticketmaster,” Meador added.
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