Live Nation Stock Plunges on Call for Its Breakup. That Taylor Swift Mess Looks Costly.

Live Nation Entertainment stock was diving Thursday after the ticketing company was hit with an antitrust lawsuit from the Justice Department.

Live Nation shares were down 5.8% at $95.53.

The Justice Department and a group of states said Thursday they would sue the company, alleging the entertainment giant has used its ticketing monopoly to suppress competition.

“We allege that Live Nation relies on unlawful, anticompetitive conduct to exercise its monopolistic control over the live events industry in the United States at the cost of fans, artists, smaller promoters, and venue operators,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said. “It is time to break up Live Nation.”

Live Nation said in a emailed statement that it would defend itself against the allegations.

“Calling Ticketmaster a monopoly may be a PR win for the DOJ in the short term, but it will lose in court because it ignores the basic economics of live entertainment, such as the fact that the bulk of service fees go to venues, and that competition has steadily eroded Ticketmaster’s market share and profit margin,” the company said.

Ticketmaster has had a series of controversies over allegations of exorbitant ticket fees, flawed customer service, and anticompetitive practices. In 2022 it had to cancel some sales to Taylor Swift fans, citing extraordinarily high ticket demand. Various politicians at the time called for an investigation into the company.

Rock band Pearl Jam unsuccessfully sued Ticketmaster back in 1994, alleging it was price gouging its fans, although the group subsequently made peace with the company.

Among the practices the Justice Department plans to challenge are exclusive ticketing contracts that Ticketmaster has with many of the venues where high-profile acts perform, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Under a consent decree with the Justice Department, the company isn’t allowed to make venues use Ticketmaster for its events, or retaliate if they use another company. The company, however, has received criticism from regulators and lawmakers regarding competition.

Write to Adam Clark at [email protected]