While Live Nation’s lobbyists have been busy trying to get the US government to settle its big antitrust lawsuit against the live giant out of court, the company’s lawyers have been trying to persuade the judge overseeing the case to dismiss the litigation through summary judgement.
Yesterday judge Arun Subramanian refused to throw the entire case out of court, but he did dismiss some of the government’s claims of anticompetitive conduct relating to Live Nation and its Ticketmaster subsidiary.
So much so, Live Nation says that the biggest sanction being sought in this legal battle - reversing the 2010 merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster - should now be off the table. The company’s EVP For Corporate And Regulatory Affairs, Dan Wall, told reporters, that - with the legal claims that Subramanian did dismiss - “we see no possible basis for breaking up Live Nation and Ticketmaster”.
Meanwhile, of course, the live music company plans to fight the remaining legal claims being made against it in court, assuming its MAGA mates can’t persuade the US Department Of Justice to settle.
“We look forward to addressing the remaining claims at trial”, Wall's statement continued, adding “the deficiencies we identified in the government’s monopoly power and conduct claims have not gone away, and we continue to believe that we will prevail in the end”.
The antitrust lawsuit, filed by the DoJ plus 40 US states, accused Live Nation of exploiting its dominant position in venue management, tour promotions and ticketing in various specific scenarios or ‘markets’: including when artists hire concert promoters, when artists hire venues, when venues hire concert booking services, when venues choose ticketing providers, and when fans buy tickets.
When arguing that the entire lawsuit should be dismissed, Live Nation insisted that the different ‘markets’ identified by the US government were “improperly defined” and that the DoJ’s antitrust team had presented “no evidence of anticompetitive effects of Live Nation’s conduct”.
Subramanian’s ruling yesterday said that the government’s claims regarding artists hiring promoters and venues - and the allegation that Live Nation unfairly ties those two things together - should proceed to trial and be considered by a jury.
He also declined to dismiss, at this stage, claims regarding Ticketmaster’s exclusivity deals with venues. But legal claims made in relation to the other scenarios identified by the government were dismissed.
Because the lawsuit involves both the DoJ and attorneys general in 40 US states, some of the legal claims made against Live Nation are based on US-wide federal competition law, while some involve alleged violations of state laws.
The state law claims make the legal action pretty complex. Indeed, in the words of Subramanian himself, there are “a dizzying array of state claims”. The judge had at one point proposed that the court deal with the federal law claims first, and put off the state law claims to a later date. However, he’s abandoned that plan, which he concluded would be “inequitable and inefficient”.
Of course, there has been much speculation this month that the DoJ’s federal law claims may end up being settled out of court before the trial begins next month, with Live Nation committing to make some modest changes to the way it does business.
That speculation heightened last week when Gail Slater - boss of the DoJ’s antitrust division, which is leading on the litigation - suddenly quit her job, following rumours of conflict between her and overall DoJ chief Pam Bondi. It’s thought Donald Trump allies lobbying on behalf of Live Nation probably heightened the conflict between Slater and Bondi.
If the DoJ does settle, it seems likely at least some of the US states would proceed with their claims in court. New York Attorney General Letitia James confirmed as much yesterday.
Responding to Subramanian’s ruling, she said, “Live Nation has used its monopoly to rig the live events industry to its benefit, driving up costs with higher ticket prices and outrageous fees. We brought this lawsuit to deliver justice to fans, artists and venues across the country, and now a court has ruled that our lawsuit will go to trial”.
“Regardless of the path that the Department Of Justice takes”, she then added, “my office will continue this case and we will see Live Nation in court”.