The federal antitrust trial that might drive the breakup of Dwell Nation and its Ticketmaster unit started Tuesday in Manhattan, with Justice Division attorneys arguing the live performance large leverages its dominance to stifle competitors and inflate prices, whereas the corporate countered that it operates in a vibrant, aggressive market.
The lawsuit, filed in 2024 by the U.S. Justice Division and joined by 40 state attorneys common, accuses Dwell Nation of illegally sustaining monopoly energy because the nation’s largest live performance promoter, ticket vendor and amphitheater operator. Twenty-five of the states are additionally looking for damages, alleging Ticketmaster overcharges followers.
“This case is about energy, the ability of a monopolist to manage competitors,” Justice Division legal professional David Dahlquist informed the 12-person jury, which was seated Monday, in opening statements earlier than U.S. District Decide Arun Subramanian, the AP reported. “At present, the live performance ticket business is damaged.”
Dahlquist pointed to Ticketmaster’s troubled 2022 presale for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, when its web site crashed amid overwhelming demand and bot exercise, prompting congressional hearings and legislative proposals – an episode he argued illustrates the corporate’s outsized management over the market. Prosecutors say they’ve inside Dwell Nation messaging describing the ticketing system as being “held collectively by duct tape” following the Swift debacle.
The federal government contends Dwell Nation controls about 86% of main ticketing at main live performance venues and wields vital energy within the amphitheater market. Dahlquist stated the corporate makes use of long-term, five- to seven-year unique contracts to lock in venues and stop them from working with rival ticketing providers. He additionally alleged Dwell Nation pressures venues to make use of each its promotion arm and Ticketmaster’s ticketing providers or threat dropping entry to excursions routed by Dwell Nation venues.
Dwell Nation legal professional David Marriott rejected the monopoly claims, saying: “We’ll let the numbers do the speaking. We would not have monopoly energy.”
Marriott characterised the corporate as “all about bringing pleasure to individuals’s lives” by dwell music and argued that the Justice Division has overstated its market share and income. He disputed authorities claims that Ticketmaster pockets $7 per ticket, saying it receives about $5 and clears lower than $2 after bills.
Marriott acknowledged that “there was an issue” in the course of the Swift sale however stated no different firm might have dealt with what he described as the biggest ticket bottleneck ever for a single artist. He added that there’s broader context to the “duct tape” comment cited by prosecutors.
The protection additionally argued that unique, long-term contracts profit venues by offering upfront funds and technological help.
“Saying you’re higher isn’t a risk,” Marriott stated, in line with THRpushing again in opposition to claims that Dwell Nation retaliates in opposition to venues that swap ticketing suppliers.
Earlier than trial, Subramanian narrowed the scope of the casedismissing claims that Dwell Nation monopolized live performance promotions and bookings extra broadly. The corporate nonetheless faces allegations that it pressures venues into unique ticketing preparations and ties entry to its amphitheaters to make use of of its promotion providers.
Decide Subramanian informed jurors they’ll hear proof over the following six weeks earlier than deciding whether or not Dwell Nation and Ticketmaster violated federal antitrust legal guidelines.
Witnesses anticipated to testify embody Dwell Nation CEO Michael Rapino, different firm executives, venue operators and opponents. John Abbamondi, former CEO of BSE International, which owns Brooklyn’s Barclays Heart and briefly switched from Ticketmaster to SeatGeek, is anticipated to testify about that call. Artists and managers, together with Drake’s supervisor Adel Nur and musician Child Rock, are additionally on the witness record.
The Justice Division is looking for structural cures, together with probably separating Dwell Nation and Ticketmaster, greater than a decade after their 2010 merger. The federal government argues {that a} breakup would restore competitors and assist decrease ticket costs.
Dwell Nation has stated there’s “no potential foundation for breaking apart Dwell Nation and Ticketmaster.”
Though the trial is now underway, questions on a possible settlement linger. The case, filed underneath the Biden administration, opened Tuesday amid hypothesis that negotiations have been nonetheless happening behind closed doorways.
