The Biz: Live Nation Stock Falls After FTC Suit; StubHub Finishes Down After IPO; AI Artist Record Deal; TikTok Sale & More

FTC Suit Spooks LYV Investors

A lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission and seven states Thursday, alleging that Ticketmaster and corporate parent Live Nation, engaged in “illegal” ticket resale practices and violated the BOTS Act sent shares of Live Nation downward.

After opening Thursday at $170, the midday news of the suit dropped the price as low as $163, off more than 4%. LYV closed the day at $164.68.

The suit — joined by the attorneys-general of Virginia, Utah, Florida, Tennessee, Nebraska, Illinois and Colorado — claims that Ticketmaster and Live Nation “tacitly worked” with secondary sellers, allowing them to buy tickets in the thousands and then list them for resale at marked-up prices, often on Ticketmaster’s own platform, thus giving Ticketmaster multiple bites at the revenue apple: from the initial purchase, the listing by the secondary seller and the consumer who ultimately buys the resold ticket.

The suit says Ticketmaster and Live Nation’s “illegal conduct frustrates artists’ desire to maintain affordable ticket prices that fit the needs of ordinary American families, costing ordinary fans millions of dollars every year.”

The lawsuit further alleges bait and switch by Ticketmaster by advertising list prices that didn’t include mandatory fees. Ticketmaster voluntarily switched to all-in upfront pricing in June 2023 for tickets at Live Nation venues ahead of an FTC rule change made in the waning days of the Biden Administration that mandated all-in pricing across the ticketing industry.

The suit also alleges BOTS Act violations, saying that Ticketmaster is complicit in the use of automated bots and deceptive practices by secondary sellers on its site. That echoes a defense by Key Investment Group — a conglomerate that controls numerous resale sites that is also being sued for BOTS Act violation — who said, in short, that it cannot violate the BOTS Act because Ticketmaster is aware of the “common” tactics used by secondary sellers.

StubHub Cools Off After IPO

Shares of StubHub closed at $22.08 Wednesday after the company’s long-awaited IPO priced shares at $23.50, a 6% drop on Day One. By midday Thursday, shares of the secondary ticketer were down to $20.71, nearly 12% from the IPO price. It closed Thursday at $20.50.

The company’s IPO nevertheless raised $800 million with its 34 million shares and the company’s valuation was north of $8 billion.

AI Artist Inks $3M Record Deal

Telisha Jones, the creator behind Timbaland-backed AI artist Xania Money, has signed a $3 million recording contract for her creation with Hallwood Media.

The label, whose leadership includes former Interscope exec Neil Jacobson, signed the deal after Monet’s song “Let Go, Let God,” hit No. 21 on Billboard‘s Hot Gospel Songs chart and No. 25 on Emerging Talents.

An earlier track, “How Was I Supposed to Know,” went to No. 1 on R&B Digital Song Sales, No. 3 on R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales and No. 22 on Digital Song Sales.

TikTok Deal Imminent…Apparently

More than 500 days after Congress passed an overwhelmingly bipartisan law requiring TikTok to find a U.S. or allied buyer or face a ban, President Donald Trump — who on dubious authority has repeatedly delayed execution of the law — says the popular app has a buyer.

A consortium led by Oracle, Silver Lake and Andreessen Horowitz will control 80% of TikTok under the deal with Chinese shareholders controlling the remaining fifth.

“We have a deal on TikTok,” Trump said Tuesday. “We have a group of very big companies that want to buy it.”

He will speak Friday with Chinese leader Xi Jinping to “confirm everything up,” he said.

Sources told the Wall Street Journal that the deal includes a spot on the board for a member appointed by the U.S. government.

The White House says any details on the deal are “pure speculation” until it is finalized.