Leadership / 01.23.20

DOJ Claims Live Nation 'Repeatedly Violated' Consent Decree, Then Extends It

Access Staff

Pollstar (01/17/20) Rendon, Francisco; Gensler, Andy

In a Jan. 8 memorandum, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) asserted that Live Nation was in clear and repeated violation of its 2010 consent decree over several years, in which the promoter was "retaliating against concert venues for using another ticketing company, or conditioning or threatening to condition Live Nation's provision of concerts and other live events on a venue's purchase of Ticketmaster's ticketing service." These violations allegedly occurred "shortly after the decree was entered in 2010 and have recurred throughout its term, with the most recent known violation occurring as late as March 2019." The memorandum cites violations at six specific venues, all of which claimed they lost or were threatened with losing Live Nation events for using or considering a non-Ticketmaster ticketer. Live Nation and the DOJ have nevertheless agreed to alter the terms of the decree and extend it for five and a half years, with the ban against threats, conditioning and retaliation upheld. The decree also requires the appointment of an independent monitor to probe and report on Live Nation's compliance, adds language defining threats and violations, obligates the promoter to inform venues of the terms of the consent decree and imposes a $1 million fee for each violation and a $3 million fee to cover the DOJ's costs for its investigation.

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Tags: Regulations , News