Live Nation Trial To Resume Monday As States Reject Settlement

Live Nation’s antitrust trial will gavel back in March 16 as dozens of state attorneys-general told a judge they were unable to reach a settlement with the live giant.

U.S. District Court Judge Arun Subramanian had set a 3 p.m. Friday deadline and ahead of that, the top lawyers from Arkansas, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma and South Dakota — all Republicans — filed notice with the court they’d settle under terms identical to the proposal submitted by the feds earlier this week.

Even still, dozens of other states — with both Republican and Democratic AGs — are primed to fight on with what is now a state-led trial, which will resume Monday in a Manhattan courtroom. Proceedings were halted earlier this week when news of the settlement broke with AEG Presents Chairman and CEO Jay Marciano on the stand.

Under the terms of the proposed settlement — which still requires Subramanian’s sign-off — Live Nation will divest from exclusive booking agreements with up to 13 amphitheaters, create a $280 million settlement fund (contingent on states agreeing to the settlement) to pay claims made by the states, and open parts of its Ticketmaster platform to competing ticketers. Live Nation would also be required to terminate its preferred ticketing service contract with the Oak View Group (Pollstar‘s parent company). The settlement, according ot the DOJ, is an eight-year agreement and will allow third-party ticketers, including Seat Geek and others, to use Ticketmaster’s technology. Additionally, Ticketmaster cannot use any means to restrict venue choice from the primary ticketing marketplace and must offer venues the option to be non-exclusive.

Earlier this week, after expressing his dismay he hadn’t been informed of a settlement ahead of time — Subramanian chastised attorneys for Live Nation and the DOJ and then urged the states — many of which filed for a mistrial, a motion Subramanian declined to rule on and that was withdrawn Friday — to negotiate a settlement with Live Nation, giving the sides a tight deadline. Dan Wall, Live Nation’s executive vice president for corporate and regulatory affairs, told the judge due to the states’ various claims and differing law, the chances of hitting that mark were “about zero.”

“Not with that attitude,” Subramanian quipped in reply.

“You should be focused on ‘Can we make a deal,’” Subramanian said in response to a plea for more time from a lawyer from the New York attorney-general’s office. “I want to see if you can get a deal done.”