After Springsteen, Taylor Swift ticket crises, NJ joins DOJ in Live Nation lawsuit

New Jersey officials are cheering a federal antitrust lawsuit filed Thursday against Ticketmaster and its owners Live Nation.

Matthew Platkin, the New Jersey attorney general, was one of 28 state attorneys general who signed on to the U.S Department of Justice’s lawsuit against Live Nation, alleging an illegal monopoly.

“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,” Platkin, the state’s chief law enforcement officer, said on Thursday.

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U.S. Rep Bill Pascrell Jr., D-Paterson, has rallied against the alleged Live Nation-Ticketmaster monopoly for years, saying in 2022 that the Biden administration should break up the entertainment conglomerate.

His office put out a report in March alleging “rampant corrupt and abusive practices by the Live Nation-Ticketmaster monopoly.” Live Nation allegedly created a business model in which it entered exclusive deals with third parties, enabling the live entertainment giant to reap profits off of venues and other third parties, often at the expense of the consumer.

“This news is a victory for the millions of American fans who have been taken advantage of, screwed, ripped off, and outright robbed by this corrupt and greedy entity,” Pascrell said in a statement Thursday.

Live Nation venues in NJ

Live Nation generates $22 billion a year and owns or operates more than 265 concert venues in North America. In New Jersey, Live Nation operates the Freedom Mortgage Pavilion in Camden and the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel.

U.S Attorney General Merrick Garland said its dominance allowed the company to exert control over the live-events industry in a way that hurt fans, performers, smaller promoters and venue operators. The company uses outdated technology that deprives fans of ticketing information, according to the federal lawsuit filed in New York.

“The result is that fans pay more in fees, artists have fewer opportunities to play concerts, smaller promoters get squeezed out, and venues have fewer real choices for ticketing services,” Garland said in a statement. “It is time to break up Live Nation.”

According to the federal lawsuit, Live Nation retaliated against potential competitors, locked out competitors by signing venues into long-term contracts that barred rival ticket sellers or ticketing technology, and restricted artists' access to venues by owning or controlling access to the locations.

Scrutiny of Live Nation and Ticketmaster

Live Nation Entertainment Inc., which is composed of event promoter Live Nation and ticket seller Ticketmaster, has been involved in controversy and has faced criticism since Live Nation and Ticketmaster merged in 2010.

Ticket prices have skyrocketed over the years, often attributed to Ticketmaster's dynamic pricing system, which adjusts ticket prices based on demand.

During the 2022 Bruce Springsteen ticket crisis, fans were looking at $4,000 tickets soon after they first went on sale.

Also in 2022, Taylor Swift spoke out for her fans after Ticketmaster canceled the general public ticket sale for the record-breaking Eras tour and the verified fan presale saw numerous delays, errors and pauses. By the time tickets reached third-party sites, they were selling for thousands of dollars.

What is Live Nation saying?

The companies said in a statement that a 1.4% annual profit reflects the “opposite of monopoly power.”

“The DOJ's lawsuit won't solve the issues fans care about relating to ticket prices, service fees, and access to in-demand shows,” the statement said. “We will defend against these baseless allegations, use this opportunity to shed light on the industry, and continue to push for reforms that truly protect consumers and artists.”

This article contains information from USA Today.

Daniel Munoz covers business, consumer affairs, labor and the economy for NorthJersey.com and The Record.

Email: munozd@northjersey.com; Twitter:@danielmunoz100 and Facebook

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ joins DOJ in Ticketmaster, Live Nation antitrust lawsuit