It looks like the Department of Justice won’t be breaking up Live Nation and Ticketmaster

Following a high-profile antitrust lawsuit, the US Department of Justice said on Monday that it had reached a tentative settlement with Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation.

After merging in 2010, the combined companies Live Nation and Ticketmaster control the majority of ticket sales and venue bookings in the United States, leaving talent no choice but to work with these two companies. Customers have been fed up for years with dynamic pricing issues that can send ticket costs skyrocketing by thousands of dollars (often without consulting artists), as well as the ticket-buying process — sales of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour were so massively soaring that they sparked government scrutiny.

According to the AP, the settlement would result in Live Nation paying a fine of up to $280 million and taking away at least 13 venues to give competitors more opportunities. But attorneys general in several states involved in the lawsuit were not satisfied with the settlement.

“The recently announced settlement with the US Department of Justice fails to address the monopoly at the heart of this case, and will benefit Live Nation at the expense of consumers,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement. “We can’t agree to that.”

Twenty-six of the thirty state attorneys general who sued the company along with the Department of Justice chose to join Attorney General James in continuing the case against Live Nation.

Washington Attorney General Nick Brown also said the settlement “does not adequately address” the problem for concertgoers.

“For too long, Live Nation has made billions from a monopoly that has made it harder for consumers to see the artists they love, stifled artists, and raised ticket prices for countless music fans,” he said.

The trial had lasted less than a week by the time the Department of Justice and Live Nation agreed to this settlement. However, some interesting testimony emerged during the trial.

John Abbamondi, former CEO of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center (where the Nets play), spoke about a decision he made in 2021 to work with a different ticket company, instead of Ticketmaster.

The ensuing phone call between Abamondi and Live Nation CEO Michael Rapinoe was played in the courtroom, and according to the New York Times, the recorded conversation was combative and “full of expletives.”

Abbamondi told the jury last week that Rapinoe made a comment on the call that he interpreted as a “veiled threat — perhaps not a veiled threat” that Live Nation would hold fewer concerts at Barclays Center as a result of the ticket change.

Live Nation reported last month that it sold more than 646 million tickets last year and held more than 54,000 international events. In the US, Live Nation has 150 venues and invested $1 billion last year to build 18 more live music venues.