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.

The senior DOJ official said the settlement includes a civil fine to be paid by Live Nation, but the amount of the fine remains unclear. It would be $280 million if the settlement involves all the states that are part of the lawsuit, the official said.

However, the $280 million figure “may change” based on how many states actually sign onto the settlement.

New York Attorney General Letitia James has already announced her state will not agree to the DOJ’s settlement, and instead will continue its lawsuit against Live Nation.

USA Today has contacted 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 that reportedly earned $25 billion in revenue and $500 million in profit last year, controls roughly 70-80% of major concert and live‑event ticket sales and owns a significant share of venues and concert promotions. 40 states launched a class action lawsuit last year that sought to break up the company’s supposed monopoly after allegations of overcharging.

The department is also seeking to rein in the company’s exclusive deals with amphitheaters. Now up to 50% of events at those venues can be exclusive to Live Nation, while the remaining 50% must be open to other promoters or ticketing companies.

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’s 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.

What does this mean for music fans?

With the settlement, the Justice Department says prices will come down for live entertainment fans.

“We’re very excited about this settlement, because ⁠it basically opens up markets for other competitors, which will allow for competition that previously didn’t exist in primary ticketing and in the live entertainment space,” said the senior Justice Department official. “And what you’re going to see there is that competition is going to have a direct impact on prices coming down. It’ll also ⁠give consumers more options and not feel like they just have to go through Live Nation or Ticketmaster.”

Live Nation, Ticketmaster critics slam DOJ deal

Brian Berry, executive director of the Ticket Policy Forum, who spoke at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on live concert and event fees, called the deal a “token tap on the wrist.”

“It appears the DOJ has once again failed to protect live event fans ⁠and market competition with a settlement that will equate to less than a speed bump for the Live Nation-Ticketmaster monopoly,” Berry said in a statement. “The only winners are Live Nation shareholders and the company’s lobbyists.”

Regarding the settlement’s requirements, Berry added, “Live Nation doesn’t win on technology or service, but rather through fear costing fans and competitors untold millions each year.” He added that the fight against Live Nation’s supposed monopoly is not over, as “we are confident many state attorneys general will stay the course to hold this market manipulator accountable.”