Sports/entertainment booking giants sued for allegedly running monopoly
NATIONWIDE — TWO ENTERTAINMENT TICKETING GIANTS with booking rights to several athletic and arts venues, including Barclays Center in Brooklyn, have been slapped with an antitrust lawsuit from New York Attorney General James, the U.S. Department of Justice, and a bipartisan multistate coalition. Attorney General James and the coalition announced on Thursday, May 23, that they are suing Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (Live Nation) and its subsidiary Ticketmaster for monopolizing the live events industry and harming consumers, artists, venues, and competitors. The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of New York, alleges that Live Nation controls almost every aspect of live events from promotions to venues and ticket sales — including at Barclays Center, Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall — abuses its market dominance to overcharge consumers, limit artists’ ability to perform at different venues, and restricts venues not owned by Live Nation from working with other ticketing vendors. The lawsuit alleges that Live Nation bullies venues, forcing them into long-term exclusive ticketing contracts with its subsidiary Ticketmaster, or risk losing lucrative Live Nation concerts, increasing its fees when working with venues. Moreover, the lawsuit alleges that Live Nation’s anticompetitive conduct has increased costs for fans — including fees that are not transparent — and it has limited ticket-purchasing options, among other complaints.
Attorney General James, the DOJ, and the bipartisan multistate coalition are seeking disgorgement and civil penalties from the companies and to stop their anticompetitive conduct from harming consumers, artists, and venues.
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Brooklyn Boro
View MoreNew York City’s most populous borough, Brooklyn, is home to nearly 2.6 million residents. If Brooklyn were an independent city it would be the fourth largest city in the United States. While Brooklyn has become the epitome of ‘cool and hip’ in recent years, for those that were born here, raised families here and improved communities over the years, Brooklyn has never been ‘uncool’.