WASHINGTON D.C. (CelebrityAccess) — A statement from the United States Department of Justice has provided additional details on the proposed extension of Live Nation’s consent decree in what the DOJ described as “the most significant enforcement action of an existing antitrust decree by the Department in 20 years.”
Under the terms of the proposed extension of the consent decree, Live Nation will be prohibited from threatening venues who opt to use a non-Ticketmaster ticketing provider, or from taking punitive action such as withholding a concert from such a venue.
Live Nation also agreed that it will appoint an antitrust compliance officer and conduct regular internal training to ensure its employees fully comply with the consent decree and to be overseen by an independent monitor appointed by the Justice Department who will be charged with investigating compliance issues.
As well, Live Nation will provide notice to current or potential venue customers of its ticketing services of the terms of the updated compliance agreement.
If Live Nation violates the terms of the agreement, they face an automatic penalty of $1,000,000 for each violation and will be responsible for the costs of the DOJ’s investigation and enforcement.
“When Live Nation and Ticketmaster merged in 2010, the Department of Justice and the federal court-imposed conditions on the company in order to preserve and promote ticketing competition.” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “Today’s enforcement action including the addition of language on retaliation and conditioning will ensure that American consumers get the benefit of the bargain that the United States and Live Nation agreed to in 2010. Merging parties will be held to their promises and the Department will not tolerate transgressions that hurt the American consumer.”
The consent decree, which was originally granted in 2010, resolved regulatory and anti-trust concerns over Live Nation’s then-proposed acquisition of Ticketmaster.
The updated consent decree still requires approval from the courts.
