Supreme Court snubs Live Nation as multiple cases move forward
The U.S. Supreme Court has has refused to review whether Live Nation and Ticketmaster’s arbitration plan to deal with customer complaints is protected by federal law. The defeat comes as multiple important federal cases against the concert giant move forward.
Live Nation and Ticketmaster asked the Supreme Court to overturn a lower court ruling that found their shift to a new arbitration scheme without clearly informing customers “boggled the mind.”
Live Nation Entertainment will now face the consumer antitrust lawsuit in federal court.
DoJ vs Live Nation and Ticketmaster
The fan suit is seperate from the case brought by the U.S. Department of Justice and 30 states calling for the breakup of for Live Nation and Ticketmaster. The DOJ alleges that the company uses their dominance in live music to create an “unlawful monopoly” that hurts fans, artists, and independent competitors.
Last week the DoJ asked the court to pause that antitrust case because of the ongoing government shutdown. Department of Justice attorneys and staff are generally prohibited from working, even without pay, during a federal shutdown.
But the judge rejected their motion and ordered that the trial move forward. That includes rapidly approaching discovery deadlines, including reports from experts due October 9th.
The DOJ vs Live Nation antitrust trial is scheduled to begin on March 2, 2026.
FTC vs Nation and Ticketmaster
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also filed a similar motion to pause its case against Live Nation. That case was just assigned to a judge and the new motion has not yet been ruled on.
The FTC’s lawsuit accuses Live Nation and Ticketmaster of “tacitly coordinating with brokers and allowing them to harvest millions of dollars worth of tickets in the primary market.” According to the FTC, “Live Nation and Ticketmaster then sell the illegally harvested tickets at a substantial markup in the secondary market, causing consumers to pay significantly more than the face value of the ticket.”
The agency is also seeking to pause its BOTS Act suit against ticket reseller Key Investment Group.
Bruce Houghton is Founder & Editor of Hypebot, Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, a Berklee College Of Music professor and founder of Skyline Artists.
