Christopher BarrettLive Nation Entertainment (LNE) has issued a statement outlining the terms of the settlement reached with the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) in the antitrust lawsuit brought by the DOJ.
LNE said the settlement, announced yesterday, will resolve all remaining matters with the DOJ, without any admission of wrongdoing.
The settlement brought the trial, which commenced on 3 March in a federal courthouse in New York, to a sudden close. The case involved attorney generals from 39 US states, and reportedly ten of them have agreed to the settlement while others have pledged to press on with legal action.
LNE CEO and president Michael Rapino (pictured) said, “Today marks a major step in improving the concert experience for artists and fans throughout the United States. Live Nation is proud to lead the way enhancing this experience with our amphitheaters, which will be open to all promoters, allowing these promoters to decide how best to distribute up to 50% of the tickets, and capping ticketing service fees at 15%. By giving artists greater flexibility in choosing their promotional partners and ticketing strategy while also keeping the cost of a concert more affordable for fans, we are putting more power where it should be – with artists and fans,” said Michael Rapino, President and CEO of Live Nation Entertainment.
“In addition, Live Nation will be divesting its 13 exclusive booking agreements with amphitheaters nationwide. All owned and operated amphitheaters will continue to be operated by Live Nation as open venues, promoting competition and maximizing show volume.
“In ticketing, Ticketmaster will be providing both exclusive and non-exclusive ticketing proposals to all major concert venues, which preserves the rights of venues to seek the type of contracts they preferred over the years while providing the government with restrictions to mitigate their concerns. At the same time, for venues that choose to do so, they may distribute some portion of their tickets through other primary ticketing marketplaces.
“We have never relied on exclusivity to drive our ticketing business, it has simply been the result of having the best products, services and people in the industry. We are happy to take greater steps to empower artists and venues in their ticketing decisions, and are confident we will continue to succeed on the quality of what we deliver.”
According to LNE, there is no financial component to the settlement with the DOJ. It said, “This does not settle the claims of all plaintiffs in the lawsuit, and the company has created a $280 million settlement fund to address the states’ damages claims.”