Live Nation Freezes Out Venues That Ditch Ticketmaster, US Says

The US Justice Department told a federal judge that Live Nation Entertainment Inc. should be broken up because the company maintains a stranglehold over the live events industry, in part by freezing out venues that don’t use its Ticketmaster unit.

Venues that dumped Ticketmaster in favor of another ticket seller ended up losing about five concerts a year promoted by Live Nation, which meant forfeiting a combined total of about $1.5 million in revenue, or more than $300,000 per event, according to the government, which sued the company in 2024.

New York’s Barclays Center was among the venues that “lost ...