Live Nation has settled its antitrust case with the Department of Justice. But as it trumpets a triumph at the federal level, Las Vegas’ dominant live entertainment company is facing a court battle with the state of Nevada.
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford has announced his office is joining 38 states and the District of Columbia continuing their own antitrust case against Live Nation.
The states taking up the action collectively claim the entertainment giant, which owns Ticketmaster, is “monopolizing the market for ticketing and using its monopoly power in the concert venue market to reinforce and protect that monopoly,” claims a release from Ford’s office.
Nevada joined the states in a class-action lawsuit launched against Live Nation in May 2024. Monday, Ford vowed to continue that fight. His office declined further comment “due to pending litigation.”
The settlement requires Live Nation to divest in the 13 amphitheaters it owns nationwide, cut exclusive booking contracts to a maximum of four years, cap service fees at its amphitheaters to 15%, and offer its booking technology to ticket sellers in competition with Ticketmaster (such as StubHub and SeatGeek) to provide tickets to Live Nation events.
Live Nation Las Vegas reps declined comment. Live Nation CEO Mike Rapino issued a statement Monday on the company’s behalf:
“Today marks a major step in improving the concert experience for artists and fans throughout the United States. Live Nation is proud to lead the way enhancing this experience with our amphitheaters, which will be open to all promoters, allowing these promoters to decide how best to distribute up to 50 percent of the tickets, and capping ticketing service fees at 15 percent,” Rapino said. “By giving artists greater flexibility in choosing their promotional partners and ticketing strategy while also keeping the cost of a concert more affordable for fans, we are putting more power where it should be – with artists and fans.”
Live Nation also states there is “no financial component” to the agreement. “This does not settle the claims of all plaintiffs in the lawsuit, and the company has created a $280 million settlement fund to address the states’ damages claims.” No indication if or how Nevada is to be compensated as it moves forward in litigation.
The DOJ had accused Live Nation of controlling live event venues through its ownership of Ticketmaster, enforcing exclusive long-term contracts that pushed out rival ticketing companies.
The result, the DOJ asserted, was higher ticket prices (with high fees attached), and fewer ticketing choices among artists and fans. Live Nation disputes all of those claims.
Breaking down Las Vegas’s position in this latest legal development:
— Live Nation controls about 70% of concert business in Las Vegas, roughly equal to its percentage across the country and far and away the industry leader in our city. In terms of pure volume, AEG Presents is a distant second.
— Live Nation’s market dominance is reflected on its hold of venues on and off the Strip. The company owns House of Blues at Mandalay Bay and Brooklyn Bowl at Promenade. LN has exclusive or booking agreements at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, PH Live at Planet Hollywood, The Venetian Theatre, Palazzo Theatre, BleauLive Theater at Fontainebleau and Pearl at the Palms. The company also books most shows at Sphere, Dolby Live and the Chelsea at Cosmopolitan.
— The settlement’s 15% cap on fees is only for its 13 amphitheaters (defined as open-air venues). None are in Las Vegas.
— Service fees sometimes run more than 35% per ticket, but a scan of the market shows they are closer to 20% in Las Vegas. The venues set these discretionary service charges. The artists (typically through management) set the ticket price. Ticketmaster receives a percentage of the ticket sales.
— Ticket-buyers in Las Vegas will continue to pay the separate, statewide, 9% live entertainment tax (LET) on top of service fees.
— Restricting exclusive booking contracts to four years could open up competition for artists signed by Live Nation. Some of those deals run twice that long, giving artists a shorter timeline to become free agents (to use a sports term) and more flexibility in booking partners.
— Forcing venues to use ticket providers other than Ticketmaster will invariably cut into TM’s business, likely up to 20%. Of course, market response will determine if the direct competition will drive down prices. But this does create a measure of parity for rival ticket platforms.
— Market demand drives ticket prices, and is the overriding reason we see Eagles tickets at Sphere for $1,000 (currently) on the Ticketmaster site. There is no provision in the settlement to cap base-ticket prices. If a resident headliner — and there are dozens playing Las Vegas annually — negotiates a $500,000 per-show guarantee, face-value prices are likely to elevate to pay the artist. And that is because, people out there are willing to pay.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.