Live Nation Could Sell 10 Venues as Part of Antitrust Settlement
If approved by a federal judge, the settlement would also compel the company to pay some $200 million in civil penalties and limit ticket service fees to 15%
By Nick Trombola March 9, 2026 5:00 pm
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A potential settlement reached by Live Nation in its federal antitrust lawsuit could force the popular event promoter to sell 10 of its venues.
The settlement comes just one week after Live Nation’s trial began in New York federal court. The federal government, 39 states and the District of Columbia filed suit against Beverly Hills-based Live Nation in 2024, alleging that the company, which owns more than 265 venues globally and manages hundreds of artists, gained monopolies over vast swaths of the industry after its merger with ticketing behemoth Ticketmaster in 2010. Live Nation has previously called the lawsuit “baseless.”
If approved by Judge Arun Subramanian, Live Nation’s settlement would be at least five-pronged, according to the L.A. Times. The company must shed 10 of its venues, though it was not immediately clear which properties would be targeted; make its ticketing platform available to third-party competitors, such as SeatGeek; limit artist ticketing exclusivity to four years and allow venues to sell tickets on competing platforms; pay more than $200 million in civil penalties; and force Ticketmaster to limit service fees to 15 percent.
Ticketmaster’s opaque service fees are the biggest point of contention for consumers, as these fees typically add 20 to 30 percent to the face value of a ticket. Such high fees — as well as regular website mismanagement — have pushed major artists and bands such as Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen and The Cure to publicly push for reform.
The controversy isn’t new. Pearl Jam famously feuded with Ticketmaster in the 1990s over the same issues, at one point testifying to the U.S. Department of Justice that the ticketing giant had a monopoly over the industry. The DOJ ultimately closed its inquiry in 1995 due to lack of evidence.
Even if Live Nation’s settlement is approved, however, it ends only one aspect of its current legal woes. The company is also facing lawsuits from the Federal Trade Commission, which alleges that the company engages in illegal ticketing resale tactics, and several class-action suits by concertgoers.
Representatives for Live Nation did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The promoter occupies more than 90 percent of IRA Capital’s 325 North Maple Drive in Beverly Hills, which serves as its headquarters. IRA Capital purchased the 102,500-square-foot building in 2021 for $153.2 million, or roughly $1,500 per square foot. In 2019, Ticketmaster inked a 98,000-square-foot lease at CIM Group’s 1041 Formosa Avenue development in West Hollywood, though the company listed much of that space for sublease in 2022.
Nick Trombola can be reached at ntrombola@commercialobserver.com.
