(vip-booking.com) – Live Nation Entertainment has agreed to a $20 million settlement with investors who sued the company over alleged anti-competitive practices.
The lawsuit, filed in 2023, accused Live Nation of misleading investors about its legal risks tied to monopolistic business operations. Lawyers on both sides told the court that the settlement is a “fair, reasonable, and adequate” resolution.
Plaintiffs’ attorneys cited the “substantial financial benefit” of the deal and the “significant risks and costs” of continued litigation. Live Nation, meanwhile, said the settlement eliminates the “uncertainty, burden, and expense” of prolonged legal battles.
The investors alleged that Live Nation engaged in deceptive practices, including inflating fees, bundling services, and retaliating against venues that opted for ticketing providers other than Ticketmaster.
Ticketmaster, which merged with Live Nation in 2010, holds about 70% of the U.S. ticketing market, while Live Nation controls 60% of concert promotion and has exclusive contracts with 70% of venues, according to the University of Oxford Faculty of Law.
The settlement follows a separate 2023 antitrust lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice, which seeks to dismantle Live Nation’s dominance in the live events industry.
Last year, a court denied Live Nation’s attempt to dismiss that case, which alleges the company unlawfully maintained monopolies in ticketing and concert promotion while engaging in exclusionary tactics.
