Washington, D.C. — On Monday, multiple outlets reported that Live Nation settled with the U.S. Department of Justice and will get to keep Ticketmaster and maintain its monopoly over live events. The DOJ lawsuit was filed in 2024 and the settlement follows the Trump administration’s ouster of Gail Slater, the head of the DOJ’s antitrust division. As part of the trial, the government presented evidence showing that Live Nation’s monopoly forced venues to use Ticketmaster, which crashed when Taylor Swift fans were trying to buy tickets to her latest tour. Demand Progress Education Fund previously supported the antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation.
The following is a statement from Demand Progress Education Fund Policy Director Emily Peterson-Cassin:
“Donald Trump threw Swifties under the bus by settling with the corporate monopoly that cost them tickets to the Eras Tour. He should know ‘all too well’ that siding with a giant monopoly over the American people makes him look like ‘the smallest man who ever lived.’ This settlement amounts to a slap on the wrist that tinkers around the edges of the real problem: Live Nation’s monopoly. Instead of breaking up Live Nation and Ticketmaster, Live Nation will now get to continue forcing the vast majority of live venues to use Ticketmaster. Following the ousting of Gail Slater and the gutting of the government’s antitrust enforcement capabilities, this settlement is the clearest sign yet that this administration serves big business, not the people.”