Twenty-one of the 33 US states that successfully pursued an antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation are asking the judge overseeing that case to force Live Nation and the Department of Justice to share more information about the company's separate settlement with the DOJ, Complete Music Update reported. Both Live Nation and the DOJ have told the court that no further discovery is needed.
The DOJ deal resolved the federal government's own antitrust claims against Live Nation and its Ticketmaster subsidiary, but the 33 states pursued their own parallel case, which went to a six-week jury trial that found Live Nation and Ticketmaster operate an unlawful monopoly. The states' attorneys general are now pushing for Live Nation and Ticketmaster to be broken up as a sanction stemming from that verdict, and argue the separate DOJ settlement may not serve the public interest.
The DOJ deal has drawn criticism amid allegations it resulted largely from lobbying by Trump allies hired by Live Nation, with critics arguing its concessions don't meaningfully address the market dominance at issue. In their own letter to Judge Arun Subramanian, the states wrote they have "significant concerns that the settlement is not in the public interest," and that Live Nation's concessions "appear to be insufficient to meaningfully increase competition in the relevant markets."
The states are seeking that added scrutiny under discovery provisions in the US Tunney Act, which lets a court authorize additional discovery when reviewing whether a settlement serves the public interest. Live Nation's lawyers counter that those provisions are meant for cases that settle before trial, when a judge has less information to work with, not one that already produced a full jury trial and post-trial motions; the company also called the states' information requests "vague and undefined" and without precedent in scope.
It is up to Subramanian to decide whether to order the additional disclosure. The Department of Justice has separately defended the settlement in its own court filings, arguing it delivers "real reform today" rather than forcing the industry to wait years for a judicial resolution through further litigation.
The facts
- 21 of 33 US states that won an antitrust case against Live Nation want more disclosure on its separate DOJ settlement
- Live Nation and the DOJ have both told the court further discovery is not appropriate
- The states argue the settlement may not be in the public interest
- States are pushing for Live Nation and Ticketmaster to be broken up as a sanction from the antitrust case
- Discovery request is being made under the US Tunney Act
- Judge Arun Subramanian is overseeing the case
- A six-week jury trial in the states' case found Live Nation and Ticketmaster operate an unlawful monopoly
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