(CelebrityAccess) – Ticketmaster and parent company, Live Nation are being sued (again) in claims they’re violating antitrust laws by monopolizing ticket sales and engaging in “predatory” behavior – with additional accusations of strong-arming arbitration agreements on ticket buyers, as reported by Billboard.
The suit was filed in California federal court on January 4, including plaintiffs from Florida, California, and Ohio are being represented by attorneys from Quinn Emanuel Urqhart & Sullivan. The filing contends that Ticketmaster and Live Nation, who merged in 2010, have overcharged their customers due to the merger. The complaint states, “The combined Live Nation / Ticketmaster behemoth has enormous, and unique, market power in primary ticketing and concert promotion services, and has shown it is unafraid to use that power.”
Live Nation, the biggest concert promoter in the United States, is being accused of withholding shows from major venues if they do not agree to have Ticketmaster as their primary ticketing provider. The complaint argues that because both companies operate within the same parent company, they are “able to keep a stranglehold on concert promotion services by paying its clients exorbitant amounts.”
This is the second time Quinn Emanuel has filed a lawsuit, as the first attempt to sue Live Nation / Ticketmaster was filed in April 2020. In that class action, it alleged the companies dominated three markets: primary and secondary ticketing and concert promotion and in doing so have “engaged in predatory and exclusionary conduct” within the ticketing arena. That suit ended with a judge siding with Ticketmaster. Billboard reports the final verdict was that “when plaintiffs purchased their tickets, they had agreed to settle any disputes with Ticketmaster via private arbitration rather than in open court.” An appeal was filed without conclusion as of press time.
In a statement to Billboard, a spokesperson for Live Nation said, “Plaintiff’s attorneys have made prior, unsuccessful attempts to bring nearly identical class actions. We are confident in the judicial process.” The new complaint can be read in its entirety below.
