Stay Nation misplaced its effort to dismiss the antitrust go well with led to by the Division of Justice after a federal choose signed off that sure parts would head to trial subsequent month.
Within the 44-page opinion issued Tuesday and obtained by TheWrap, U.S. District Decide Arun Subramanian of the Southern District of New York granted some elements of Stay Nation’s movement for abstract judgment, however denied others – clearing the way in which for trial on three main units of claims.
The case was introduced by the DOJ, 39 states and the District of Columbia, alleging that Stay Nation unlawfully maintains a monopoly throughout the reside music business. Surviving claims embody federal and state allegations that Stay Nation manipulates massive amphitheaters; that Ticketmaster monopolized the marketplace for ticketing companies; and varied state-law antitrust claims.
On the similar time, the court docket dismissed a number of artist-facing monopolization claims, ruling that the federal government failed to ascertain a legally viable marketplace for promotion companies tied to main live performance venues. The choose mentioned the proposed market was improperly outlined and never supported by ample financial proof.
“Market definition is the cornerstone of a monopolization declare,” Subramanian wrote, discovering that the federal government’s proof didn’t present that promotion companies for big venues have been meaningfully distinct from promotion companies extra broadly.
The ruling narrowed – however didn’t absolutely put a cease to – some of the important antitrust instances introduced in opposition to Stay Nation since its controversial 2010 merger with Ticketmaster, which was permitted below circumstances that restricted retaliation in opposition to competing ticketing companies.
The federal government alleges that Stay Nation’s vertically built-in construction — spanning artist promotion, venue possession and ticketing — allowed it to stifle competitors by steering artists and venues towards its personal companies and punishing anybody searching for alternate options. Stay Nation denies the allegations, arguing that competitors stays strong.
One of the consequential features of the choice is the court docket’s therapy of enormous out of doors amphitheaters. Not like the broader “main live performance venue” class rejected by the court docket, Decide Subramanian discovered that there was ample proof for a jury to contemplate whether or not massive amphitheaters represent a definite antitrust market.
The opinion cited testimony and inner paperwork suggesting that many artists strongly want amphitheaters due to their out of doors setting, manufacturing design and seasonal touring – even when enjoying them isn’t as profitable. That proof, the choose mentioned, may help a discovering that demand for these venues is comparatively inelastic, giving Stay Nation a market benefit.
If the federal government proves that market at trial, Stay Nation could possibly be discovered to regulate roughly 80% of it, in keeping with figures cited within the ruling.
The case will now transfer towards trial on the remaining claims, setting the stage for a carefully watched confrontation over Stay Nation’s dominance within the reside leisure enterprise.
