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The
lawmakers cited the company's previous violation of an agreement
with the Justice Department that allowed the controversial
merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation in 2010. That was settled
with Live Nation agreeing to refrain from retaliating against
venues that do not use its Ticketmaster service for every event.
The lawmakers asked the department to assess Live Nation's
compliance with the updated consent decree.
"As live events continue to open up, American consumers are
confronting skyrocketing ticket prices, opaque terms, and
exorbitant fees. Yet live entertainment markets, especially
ticket markets, are dominated by one corporation, Live Nation,
which cemented its dominance through its 2010 merger with
Ticketmaster," they wrote to Jonathan Kanter, head of the
Justice Department Antitrust Division.
The letter noted with dismay that Live Nation had an "aggressive
acquisition strategy" that included its purchase of Rival, a
ticketing startup designed to compete with Ticketmaster.
"We are deeply concerned that the Department’s past enforcement
and negotiated remedies in this industry have failed to
adequately foster and protect competition in live entertainment
and ticketing markets," they wrote.
(Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by David Gregorio)
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