Stay Nation / Ticketmaster Might Face Justice Division Antitrust Lawsuit: Report

Stay Nation and its subsidiary Ticketmaster might face an antitrust lawsuit from the Division of Justice as early as this fall, Politico studies.

In accordance with three folks acquainted with the matter, the lawsuit would declare that Ticketmaster is abusing its energy within the leisure trade by squashing different ticketing competitors. Based mostly on previous feedback from antitrust head Jonathan Kanter, if the lawsuit is profitable, Stay Nation and Ticketmaster could also be pressured to separate strains of enterprise.

Kanter has made clear his choice to litigate antitrust violators quite than settle, and would additionally quite impart structural cures — like breaking apart the leisure giants — quite than behavioral fixes, like asking the businesses to vow to not interact in sure behaviors.

In an announcement to Politico, Stay Nation government VP for company and regulatory affairs Dan Wall stated, “We’re in common contact with the DOJ and so they haven’t informed us they suppose we’re doing something unlawful or requested us to handle any issues. It will be extremely irregular for the DOJ to file with out that discover and quite a lot of dialogue afterwards. Nonetheless, in the event that they do file we’re ready to defend ourselves.”

The attainable antitrust go well with would comply with years of federal oversight on Stay Nation and Ticketmaster, which started when the businesses merged in 2010. Up to now, each companies agreed to unload some ticketing belongings, license their ticketing software program, and never pressure venues to make use of Ticketmaster — although Stay Nation has been accused of violating the latter clause. In a 2019 settlement, the corporate agreed to increase court docket oversight through an unbiased compliance monitor by means of 2025.

In accordance with Politco’s sources, the lawsuit could be extra centered on Ticketmaster’s actions than Stay Nation’s. The Justice Division has reportedly requested the corporate about its resale insurance policies, its offers with venues to solely use Ticketmaster, and its contracts with artists.

Whether or not or not the DOJ truly hits Ticketmaster with a lawsuit this fall might come right down to sources, the report says. Antitrust trials towards Google and JetBlue/Spirit Airways are already slated for September and October, whereas investigations into the conduct of Apple and Visa, in addition to an Adobe/Figma merger, are ongoing.

This elevated authorities stress follows an extended line of accelerating frustration at Ticketmaster. Final 12 months, the corporate botched its ticket sale to Taylor Swift’s “The Eras Tour” so badly that a number of followers initiated lawsuit, whereas Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced a congressional antitrust listening to. One other class-action case centered on inflated costs to Drake’s present tour with 21 Savage.