Jun. 26 at 2:24 PM
A court filing by
$LYV has disclosed that President & CEO Michael Rapino spoke w/President Trump before the US Dept of Justice reached a settlement in its federal antitrust case them
The filing also described meetings, phone calls, videoconferences & written communications involving Justice Dept officials & members of the White House Counsel’s Office b/n Feb 2025 & June 2026
It also lists Live Nation board member Richard Grenell, a Trump ally who was appointed interim executive director of the Kennedy Center in 2025, as participating in certain discussions
The underlying antitrust lawsuit began in May 2024, when the Justice Dept, joined by dozens of state AGs, accused Live Nation & its Ticketmaster subsidiary of illegally maintaining monopoly power across multiple segments of the live entertainment business. Federal regulators alleged the company used exclusive agreements, acquisitions & other business practices to suppress competition in concert promotion, venue mgmt & ticketing
The govt initially sought structural remedies that could have included separating Live Nation from Ticketmaster, arguing that the company’s vertical integration gave it significant control over the live music ecosystem
Surprisingly, the Justice Dept’s earlier this year settled w/ Live Nation in the Federal case
Note: A coalition of states declined to join the federal agreement, arguing that the proposed remedies did not adequately address concerns about market concentration or restore competition in the live entertainment industry.
