Live Nation and the Department of Justice have reached a settlement over the DOJ’s antitrust claims against the live music giant, potentially putting an end to the government’s pursuit of the case as dozens of states decide whether to continue pursuing it, according to court documents filed Monday.
Details of the agreement weren’t disclosed. It remains subject to approval. A trial in New York federal court began with opening statements last week.
Some of the 39 states that sued alongside the DOJ are expected to continue pursuing the case. New York attorney general Letitia James said the settlement “fails to address the monopoly at the center of this case,” adding that “we will continue our lawsuit to protect consumers and restore fair competition to the live entertainment industry.”
In a post on X, California attorney general Rob Bonta said a “bipartisan group of AGs” will “continue this fight and get a better deal fro consumers.”
After the court was informed of the deal on Monday, the states moved for a mistrial. They said they were deliberately “kept in the dark and excluded materially” from settlement talks and were only informed of the near-final terms on Thursday evening, with one day to decide whether to accept them.
“Due to the substantial prejudice caused by this settlement and DOJ’s abrupt exit after taking the lead role up to and during the first week of trial, a mistrial is warranted,” the filing reads.
Settlement talks appear to have intensified since January and come together without the states’ participation. In a court filing, Elinor Hoffmann, head of antitrust division for the New York attorney general’s office, said she was informed by the DOJ that it sent an initial response to proposed deal terms the government had received from Live Nation. Last month, the DOJ convened a call with the states to discuss the agreement, though states weren’t apprised of details. “I did not receive any information about a potential settlement from the United States or Defendants during the month of February,” she wrote. “During that time, New York and the other Plaintiff States continued to prepare for trial along with attorneys from the Department of Justice.”
On March 2, DOJ officials later indicated to lawyers representing the states that a settlement wasn’t near. A deal was reached in principle later that week. The government set a March 6 deadline to join the deal.
Per the New York Times, lawyers told Judge Arun Subramanian in court on Monday that Live Nation and the DOJ settled on Thursday, which angered Subramanian as the judge hadn’t been briefed on the settlement Friday.
“It shows absolute disrespect for the court, the jury and this entire process,” Judge Subramanian said Monday, per the Times, further saying he expects Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino and DOJ acting assistant attorney general Omeed A. Assefi to be in court Tuesday to discuss the settlement. “It is absolutely unacceptable.”
The notion of a settlement began to seem more likely in the weeks leading up to the trial after assistant as general Gail Slater stepped down from her post in February. Live Nation was reportedly talking with other DOJ officials outside of the antitrust division looking to settle, though the case proceeded after Subramanian denied Live Nation’s motion to dismiss the case last month while cutting out some claims to narrow the suit.
After the decision, Live Nation executive vice president of corporate and regulatory affairs had penned a blog post saying it was “time to move on” from the case, arguing that the cuts dismissed the DOJ’s monopoly claims. The blog post was subsequently removed days later.
Reps for Live Nation didn’t immediately respond to request for comment on the settlement.
