From the linked lawsuit <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cacd.636257.1.0.pdf" rel="nofollow">https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cacd.63...</a>, one of the major complaints is:<p>> Defendants [LiveNation and Ticketmaster] have also recently begun using
their unique multi-level leverage (which arose from their merger) to prevent artists from
using Songkick’s competitive services, and to tie (1) Live Nation’s concert promotion
services, Live Nation’s artist management services, Ticketmaster’s concert venue
ticketing services, and/or use of the venues Defendants own, manage, and/or control; to
(2) the artists’ use of Ticketmaster’s own artist presale ticketing services (recently
rebranded as Ticketmaster’s “OnTour” division).<p>> Michael Rapino, LiveNation’s CEO and Director, has admitted that artists today make 95% of their income
from live music events and that Live Nation is now the “largest single financer” of
artists worldwide (more than record companies). Armed as he is with this power over
artists’ careers, Mr. Rapino has used this position to intimidate artists into using
Ticketmaster over any other artist presale ticketing service. Indeed, Mr. Rapino made
several threats to withhold Defendants’ services if artists insisted on using Songkick’s
artist presale ticketing services. He also told several artists that they could not take a
single ticket off of the Ticketmaster system, period.<p>It's worth noting, in this context, that <a href="https://www.quinnemanuel.com/the-firm/our-notable-victories/victory-march-2018-110-million-antitrust-and-trade-secret-victory-against-ticketmaster-and-live-nation/" rel="nofollow">https://www.quinnemanuel.com/the-firm/our-notable-victories/...</a> linked in the original thread states (though certainly from a self-promoting source) that:<p>> Following fact and expert discovery, the defendants moved for summary judgment on all of Songkick’s antitrust and non-trade secret claims. The Court denied that motion in its entirety on the papers. Before that decision, no antitrust plaintiff had ever withstood summary judgment against Ticketmaster, making Songkick the first. The decision also set up for trial (for the first time ever) what the defendants’ lead attorney acknowledged was a claim that put the legality of Ticketmaster’s exclusive dealing practices “squarely at issue.” Faced with Songkick’s claim and the prospect of a looming trial against Quinn Emanuel in late January 2018, the defendants resolved the dispute by paying Songkick $110 million in settlement (nearly 100% of its lost going concern value damages) and acquiring its assets for a confidential sum.<p>(Note that Songkick announced it would shut down in October 2017. It's very possible that Songkick was likely to succeed on the merits but was forced to take a settlement to meet the needs of its team and investors.)<p>IMO it's vital that this be taken seriously. An increasingly gloves-off anticompetitive Ticketmaster, in the midst of a global recession, could do irreparable damage to an entire generation of musical creators. Something has to change.