Live Nation settles US antitrust case, keeps Ticketmaster, Politico reports

March 9 (Reuters) - Live Nation Entertainment has reached a colony with the U.S. Justice Department that allows the performance promoter to clasp ‌Ticketmaster, Politico reported connected Monday, citing radical acquainted with the matter.

The ‌agreement requires the performance elephantine to wage astir $200 cardinal successful damages to participating states and ​submit to sweeping structural reforms targeting its long-criticized power of ticketing, venues and creator promotion, the study added.

Shares of the California-based institution jumped astir 9% successful premarket trading aft the report.

Fans and politicians had intensified calls to analyse Live ‌Nation's 2010 acquisition of Ticketmaster, ⁠after the institution subjected Taylor Swift fans to hours-long online queues portion charging precocious prices for tickets to her 2022 ⁠Eras tour.

The U.S. Justice Department and much than 2 twelve states sued to interruption up Live Nation successful May 2024, calling for a merchantability of Ticketmaster ​and alleging ​the companies illegally inflated performance summons prices and ​harmed artists.

The proceedings successful the ‌case began past week aft a justice successful February rejected Live Nation's bid to disregard the lawsuit.

Under the settlement, Ticketmaster volition beryllium required to unfastened parts of its exertion level to competing ticketing companies, allowing third-party sellers specified arsenic SeatGeek and Eventbrite to database tickets straight done its system, the study ‌said.

The statement caps Live Nation's semipermanent exclusivity ​contracts, historically utilized to fastener venues into ​its system, astatine 4 years, ​and venues volition beryllium permitted to allocate a information of ‌their summons inventory to rival platforms, ​the Politico study added.

Live ​Nation has earlier called the allegations baseless and said the result of the proceedings would bash thing to little summons prices for fans.

Live ​Nation, Ticketmaster and the ‌DOJ did not instantly respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

(Reporting by ​Kritika Lamba and Angela Christy successful Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy, ​Mrigank Dhaniwala and Krishna Chandra Eluri)