Live Nation reaches settlement with DOJ in antitrust case

Live Nation Entertainmenthas reached a proposed settlement with the U.S. Justice Department, according to a court hearing on Monday.

In the same hearing, it was disclosed that Live Nation is also in talks with state attorneys general to secure a broader, global resolution of related state‑level antitrust claims.

Shares of the California-based company are up 4.5% in premarket trading.

Live Nation, Ticketmaster and the DOJ did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

The agreement requires the concert giant to pay roughly $200 million in damages to participating states and submit to sweeping structural reforms targeting its long-criticized control of ticketing, venues and artist promotion, the Politico had earlier reported.

Fans and politicians had intensified calls to examine Live Nation’s 2010 acquisition of Ticketmaster, after the company subjected Taylor Swift fans to hours-long online queues while charging high prices for tickets to her 2022 Eras tour.

The U.S. Justice Department and more than two dozen statessuedto break up Live Nation in May 2024, calling for a sale of Ticketmaster and alleging the companies illegally inflatedconcert ticket pricesand harmed artists.

The trial in the case began last week after a judge in FebruaryrejectedLive Nation’s bid to dismiss the lawsuit.

Under the settlement, Ticketmaster will be required to open parts of its technology platform to competing ticketing companies, allowing third-party sellers such as SeatGeek and Eventbrite to list tickets directly through its system, the report said.

The agreement caps Live Nation’s long-term exclusivity contracts, historically used to lock venues into its system, at four years, and venues will be permitted to allocate a portion of their ticket inventory to rival platforms, the Politico report added.

Live Nation has earlier called the allegationsbaselessand said the outcome of the trial would do nothing to lower ticket prices for fans.