Overview
- Live Nation executives and lobbyists are negotiating with senior Justice Department officials outside the antitrust division in a bid to avoid a monopoly trial, according to Semafor.
- A Justice Department spokesman disputed parts of the reporting and said Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater is very much involved in the matter.
- The DOJ and about 30 states plus Washington, D.C., filed a 2024 lawsuit seeking to break up Live Nation-Ticketmaster, alleging unlawful maintenance of market dominance.
- Any federal settlement would not resolve separate state actions, with reporting noting roughly 40 states pursuing their own antitrust cases.
- Semafor reports that Kellyanne Conway and Mike Davis have advised Live Nation on the talks, and that Richard Grenell joined the company’s board last year.