By: Richard L. Smith
Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin has announced that New Jersey is joining the Justice Department and a bipartisan coalition of 28 states and the District of Columbia in filing an antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment, Inc., the owner of Ticketmaster.
The lawsuit alleges that the company has illegally monopolized the live entertainment industry.
“For decades, New Jersey has long enjoyed a vibrant music scene—from jazz in Newark to rock on the Jersey Shore—and both fans and artists have been hurt by the complicated business web Live Nation has built since it purchased Ticketmaster in 2010,” said Attorney General Platkin.
“It shouldn’t cost thousands of dollars to take your family to see live music, to introduce your children to your favorite artists.
Today, New Jersey is proud to stand with a large group of states on behalf of consumers everywhere who are tired of fee schemes that lead to exorbitant pricing and rob them of these experiences.”
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleges multiple violations of the federal Sherman Act and the New Jersey Antitrust Act.
The filing requests the court to order the sale and divestiture of Ticketmaster, which Live Nation purchased in 2010.
The lawsuit outlines how Live Nation’s $22 billion business has created an ecosystem that allows the company to extract revenues at every stage as an intermediary, often double-dipping across multiple business lines—as both a ticket