More from USA v. Live Nation-Ticketmaster: all the news on the lawsuit that could take down a giant
The Justice Department released an unsealed indictment against Oak View Group CEO Timothy Leiweke, alleging he conspired with competitor Legends Hospitality to rig the bids for an arena project. Leiweke allegedly convinced Legends not to bid on the project in exchange for subcontracts he later reneged on. The DOJ says Oak View and Legends cooperated and entered non-prosecution agreements, including penalties of $15 million and $1.5 million, respectively.
Oak View Group said in a statement it “cooperated fully” and “is pleased to have resolved this matter with no charges filed against OVG and no admission of fault or wrongdoing.” Leiweke spokesperson Ellen Davis, however, said he “has done nothing wrong and will vigorously defend himself and his well-deserved reputation for fairness and integrity.”
Update: Added comment from Oak View and Leiweke.
[documentcloud.org]
The Competition and Markets Authority announced the investigation after fans purchasing tickets for the Oasis reunion tour were met with unexpectedly high prices. The CMA will look into Ticketmaster’s dynamic pricing scheme, which adjusts ticket prices based on demand.
“It is time to break up Live Nation-Ticketmaster,” said US Attorney General Merrick Garland, in a statement announcing the DOJ antitrust lawsuit.
The US government is trying to break up Live Nation-Ticketmaster
The feds have filed an antitrust lawsuit seeking to break up Live Nation, the parent company of event ticketing giant Ticketmaster, and we’re about to hear more details from the government’s side in this press conference.
Update, May 27th: Replaced live stream link with archive copy from YouTube.
The announcement could come as soon as Thursday. Live Nation, which owns Ticketmaster, calls itself “the largest producer of live music concerts in the world.” It’s one of many agents of consolidation that drastically reshaped music.
[The Washington Post]
But according to Bloomberg’s Leah Nylen, it’s delayed plans to file an antitrust complaint from late 2023 to sometime this year, continuing its investigation into the company’s business practices. It’s reportedly not too happy with Ticketmaster’s response, either:
Antitrust enforcers, who have been investigating the company for more than a year, have been frustrated with Ticketmaster over how slowly it has responded to the Justice Department’s requests, said two of the people. Because of that, the Justice Department has been forced to rely on third-parties to help make its case. In December, the Justice Department sent follow-up information requests to rival ticketing platforms, said two other people familiar with the matter.
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