Live Nation may have settled its antitrust battle with the US Department of Justice, but the trial has continued with a coalition of 32 states continuing to sue the company and – potentially – press for a breakup of Live Nation and Ticketmaster.
Now Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar – a longtime campaigner for ticketing reform – is giving the company another headache. Dismayed at last week’s settlement, she has introduced legislation to try to avoid similar moves in the future.
The Antitrust Accountability and Transparency Act would “strengthen review of antitrust settlements and ensure they protect consumers, workers and small businesses” – rather than “special interests”.
“In the recent settlement between the Department of Justice and Live Nation, it is clear the American people got the raw end of the deal,” said Klobuchar in a statement.
“This bill, which has support from antitrust enforcers from both sides of the aisle, ensures that courts have the tools to independently review settlements and approve only those that benefit the American people.”
The senatorial criticism of Live Nation doesn’t stop there. One of the co-sponsors of Klobuchar’s bill, Connecticut senator Richard Blumenthal, has released a report taking aim at “How Ticketmaster’s Monopoly Supercharges Prices and Fees“.
The report, from the US Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), is the result of a long-term investigation of Ticketmaster’s business. Blumenthal said his decision to release the report was a direct response to the DoJ settlement.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source musically.com ’
