Live Nation Entertainment on Thursday asked a federal judge in New York to dismiss claims from several states that the live event promoter harmed concertgoers by stifling competition with its ticketing subsidiary, Ticketmaster.
Live Nation is seeking to dismiss part of a lawsuit filed in May by the U.S. Justice Department and a coalition of states. Prosecutors are seeking to break up Live Nation and say the concert promoter and Ticketmaster illegally inflated concert ticket prices and harmed artists.
Last month, several states joined the lawsuit, bringing the total to 39 states and the District of Columbia. Two-thirds of them also added claims for triple damages on behalf of viewers in their states.
Live Nation has asked to dismiss the complaints, saying that allegations that it used threats, retaliation and long-term contracts to prevent concert venues from using competing ticketing services “have virtually nothing to do with consumers or the ticketing fees they pay.”
“The premise of their complaint appears to be that in a world where their marginal costs were falling, concert venues would respond by reducing prices for free to consumers rather than pocketing the extra profit,” the company said.
Live Nation also asked Manhattan District Judge Arun Subramanian to dismiss a lawsuit that it is forcing artists to use its concert promotion services to book venues it owns, saying the law does not require it to let rival concert promoters rent out its amphitheaters.
