Live Nation settles with DOJ, will sell concert venues, cap fees
Live Nation settles with DOJ, will sell concert venues, cap fees
Taijuan Moorman and Aysha Bagchi, USA TODAY Mon, March 9, 2026 at 2:47 PM UTC
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Live Nation settles with DOJ, will sell concert venues, cap fees
Live Nation and the Department of Justice have reached a settlement, after the department accused the live entertainment giant of operating an illegal monopoly over the industry.
Live Nation has agreed to settle with the department in a deal that includes the sale of up to 13 of its amphitheaters nationwide and puts in place a 15% cap on service fees for people who want to use the venues, according to a senior Justice Department official.
Ticketmaster, a subsidiary of Live Nation, is also required to offer its technology to other ticket sellers, such as StubHub, in order to reach customers.
Live Nation is also not allowed to retaliate against a venue that picks a primary ticketer other than Ticketmaster.
USA TODAY has reached out Live Nation for comment.
The deal comes after Live Nation's antitrust trial kicked off in New York on March 3. The company – an industry power player reportedly controlling roughly 70-80% of major concert and live‑event ticket sales and owning a significant share of venues and concert promotions – faced a class action lawsuit that sought to break up the company's supposed monopoly after allegations of overcharging.
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The senior Justice Department official said it had agreed to settle now as a trial could go on for a long time, and that the department wanted to get Americans relief as quickly as possible. The official added that a number of states have already signaled they would sign on to the settlement, and that the department is confident that a double-digit number of states would do so.
In March 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order targeting ticket price gouging. That order directs the Treasury Secretary and the Attorney General to ensure ticket scalpers comply with the IRS' tax collections, and directs the Federal Trade Commission to work with the Attorney General to ensure competition laws are enforced. Live Nation supported the executive order at the time.
The Senate Commerce Committee had also approved and introduced the TICKET Act, a bipartisan bill that would make it a requirement to display the total event ticket price, including fees, up front. The legislation has not passed the Senate.
This story is developing.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Live Nation settles with DOJ, will sell concert venues and cap fees
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
