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Business News Legal Live Business
Law firm looking into anti-competitive conduct claims against Live Nation
By Chris Cooke | Published on Monday 9 April 2018
New York legal firm Bragar Eagel & Squire last week announced plans to investigate the allegations of anti-competitive behaviour that have been made against Live Nation, on behalf of shareholders in the live entertainment giant.
It follows the recent New York Times piece which ran through claims that Live Nation uses its power as a concert promoter to pressure venues to hire its Ticketmaster division for ticketing. This conduct, some allege, is in violation of a consent decree agreement the company reached with the US Department Of Justice when Live Nation and Ticketmaster merged back in 2010. The Times added that the DoJ itself is investigating these claims.
Ticketmaster President Jared Smith quickly issued a lengthy response to the article disputing all of the allegations in it and insisting that his company followed the commitments made in the 2010 consent decree. He also argued that the ticketing sector was more competitive than ever and that Ticketmaster’s success in the market was down to innovation, not the exploitation of its parent company’s market dominance.
He concluded: “It is absolutely against Live Nation and Ticketmaster policy to threaten venues that they won’t get any Live Nation shows if they don’t use Ticketmaster. Live Nation is the most artist-focused company in the world, and misusing our relationship with artists to ‘settle scores’ with venues would be both bad business and counter to our core beliefs”.
The Times article nevertheless caused Live Nation’s share price to wobble. A fact Bragar Eagel & Squire noted when announcing it was planning to look into the allegations against the live firm and any possible DoJ investigation.
In their statement, the lawyers said that “if you purchased or otherwise acquired Live Nation shares and suffered a loss, continue to hold shares, have information, would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters” you should get in touch.
