The state-level attorneys general involved in the big US antitrust legal battle with Live Nation will meet to discuss the case later this week. That meeting comes amid speculation that the federal government will settle the case on terms favourable to the live giant, after it hired MAGA veterans to lobby on its behalf.
Attorneys general in 40 US states joined with the federal government’s Department Of Justice in suing Live Nation and its Ticketmaster subsidiary over allegations it abuses its market dominance in venue management, concert promotion and ticketing.
If the Donald Trump-allies lobbying for Live Nation successfully pressure the DoJ into agreeing a settlement deal with modest remedies, the live giant's critics will be looking to the state-level officials to continue the legal battle in court.
Connecticut’s Democrat Attorney General William Tong has indicated that could well happen. He’s told Bloomberg that any DoJ negotiated deal that is “politically motivated or impacted, or any settlement that comes from trying to placate the President or meet his demands, is not likely to fly with Connecticut”.
Meanwhile Rob Bonta, California’s Democrat Attorney General, told the news agency that while “we have to explore settlement in good faith”, if the DoJ’s deal is not adequate, he is willing to “go to the mat and take it to trial”.
The antitrust lawsuit, which could result in Live Nation and Ticketmaster being split up, is due in court next month. However, the live giant has reportedly hired Trump allies to put pressure on the DoJ’s antitrust team to settle the case, what one former member of that team called a “bevy of cozy MAGA friends”.
That lobbying escalated existing tensions between the DoJ’s antitrust chief Gail Slater, who seemed committed to pursuing the Live Nation case through the courts, and overall DoJ boss Pam Bondi. An escalation that ultimately resulted in Slater quitting her job at the DoJ last week.
If the DoJ does now settle with Live Nation on terms that seem politically motivated, it will be interesting to see how many attorneys general at the state-level decide to continue with their litigation, and whether there will be any difference of opinion on party lines.
Critics of Live Nation will be hoping that at least some states continue to litigate the matter in court. The Executive Director of the US National Independent Venue Association, Stephen Parker, recently said, “There is no settlement that will lead to justice for America’s independent venues, artists and fans. There is no pathway to restore competition in ticketing and live performance across America without Live Nation’s break-up”.
That said, even if a decent number of states do continue to pursue their action to trial, getting the DoJ lawsuit settled out of court would still be a big win for Live Nation, assuming it didn't need to commit to major concessions to get that deal across the line.