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In court Monday the Department of Justice announced it had reached a settlement with Live Nation in a twist to the landmark antitrust case so surprising the Trump administration forgot to inform the judge — and their own lead lawyer.
Attorneys general representing a bipartisan coalition of 28 states announced their intention to continue the lawsuit the same afternoon. Now Judge Arun Subramanian has ordered the states and Live Nation to make an agreement by the end of the week.
The terms of the settlement would see Live Nation cap its service fees at 15%, divest 13 exclusive booking agreements with smaller amphitheaters, and allow third-party competitors like SeatGeek and StubHub to sell primary tickets through the platform. These changes are cosmetic at best, keeping Live Nation’s self-reinforcing “flywheel” model intact, though it remains to be seen what, if any, terms LiveNation agrees to in a settlement with the states.
In a Tuesday morning hearing, Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino and DOJ antitrust head Omar Assefi answered questions from the judge, who had harsh words for their lack of communication regarding the imminent settlement. However Subramanian declined to rule on several plaintiff states’ motion for a mistrial, instead directing Rapino, Assefi, and representatives for the states to reach their own settlement.
Per The Prospect, the terms of the settlement include a fine equal to three days’ revenue. New York Post described the terms as a “tickle on the wrist.”
But how exactly did the DOJ reach a settlement with Live Nation when the first week of the trial was so clearly in the prosecution’s favor? Last year they donated $500,000 to Trump’s inauguration, put his friend Rich Grennell on the company board, and then brought in Trump allies Kellyanne Conway and Mike Davis to advise on the talks.
The shock settlement is just the latest casualty of the broader erosion of antitrust protections under the Trump administration. In other cases, like FTC v. Meta, prosecutors have enabled ridiculously broad market definitions to let corporations off the hook. And last month, one of the Justice Department’s top antitrust attorneys resigned in a move The Hollywood Reporter said signaled a settlement with Live Nation was likely in the works.