Forbes (12/23/19) Marcus, Daniel
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced an agreement with Live Nation/Ticketmaster (LYN) that will allow the company to avoid any substantial sanctions or penalties for alleged violations of the consent decree dictating terms the combined entities had to adhere to following their 2010 merger. However, this has not muted public and industry skepticism that the deal will benefit them. The terms of the agreement stipulate that LYN cannot threaten to withhold concerts from venues that opt for another ticketing provider, and any such threat would violate the consent decree. Moreover, LYN will be overseen by an independent monitor appointed by the DOJ to ensure it maintains compliance with the deal, and it must hire an internal antitrust compliance officer to regularly train employees to guarantee organizational adherence to the terms of the consent decree. Every violation of the agreement's terms will automatically cost LYN $1 million, and the company also would have to pay the costs for DOJ's investigation and enforcement of the consent decree. Critics complain that the deal only makes certain conduct explicitly punishable, and there are no explicit bans on LYN discreetly electing not to do business with venues that will not use Ticketmaster.
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