New York Attorney General Letitia James said Monday she will continue a multistate lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment and its ticketing arm Ticketmaster, rejecting a settlement announced by the U.S. Department of Justice.
James said the federal deal does not address claims that Live Nation holds a monopoly in the live entertainment market.
“For years, Live Nation has made enormous profits by exploiting its illegal monopoly and raising costs for shows,” James said. “My office has led a bipartisan group of attorneys general in suing Live Nation for taking advantage of fans, venues, and artists, and we are committed to holding Live Nation accountable.”
James said the settlement would not fix the issue raised in the lawsuit.
“The settlement recently announced with the U.S. Department of Justice fails to address the monopoly at the center of this case, and would benefit Live Nation at the expense of consumers. We cannot agree to it,” she said.
James said the states will move forward without the federal government.
“My attorney general colleagues and I have a strong case against Live Nation, and we will continue our lawsuit to protect consumers and restore fair competition to the live entertainment industry,” she said. “We will keep fighting this case without the federal government so that we can secure justice for all those harmed by Live Nation’s monopoly.”
Attorneys general joining New York include Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, Wyoming and the District of Columbia.
For New York, the case is handled by Assistant Attorneys General Jonathan Hatch, Luisa di Lauro, Pratik Agarwal and Juliana Karp. Deputy Bureau Chief Amy McFarlane and Bureau Chief Elinor Hoffmann oversee the work in the Antitrust Bureau.
The Antitrust Bureau is part of the Division of Economic Justice, led by Chief Deputy Attorney General Chris D’Angelo and overseen by First Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy.
