AEG Says Live Nation Gotta Give Up Ticketmaster — Competition's On Life Support
The concert industry's biggest rival just told the feds: breaking up isn't enough, Live Nation needs to actually divest.
AEG put its money where its mouth is today, filing hard against Live Nation's antitrust settlement with the Department of Justice. The bottom line? Selling off some assets ain't gonna cut it — Live Nation needs to completely divest Ticketmaster if the feds want real competition back in the live music space.
This ain't new beef, but the stakes just got real. AEG's basically saying the DOJ's current deal is theater, that Live Nation keeping its stranglehold on ticketing while making surface-level concessions is just rearranging deck chairs. The deadline for formal comments hit today, so this filing matters in the court record.
It's a rare moment where the industry's number two player is publicly pressuring regulators to go harder. Whether judges buy the argument that only a full spinoff restores real choice for venues, promoters, and fans is the actual question. Right now, Live Nation's still the gatekeeper, and breaking that gate open would be wild.
Meanwhile, ticketing drama is popping globally too — developments brewing in Brazil and South Korea on top of the US chaos. The whole ecosystem's in flux.
Read the full story at CMU → https://completemusicupdate.com/aeg-tells-judge-live-nation-must-sell-ticketmaster-to-restore-competition-in-the-live-music-market/
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