Democrats preview how they’d go after the Ticketmaster settlement if they regain power
A handful of Democrats convened an unofficial hearing at the Capitol on Monday to criticize the Justice Department’s “trivial” and “pathetic” deal with Live Nation-Ticketmaster, providing insight into how they might tackle the Trump administration’s antitrust deals if they regain power in Congress in November.
While the DOJ’s deal with Live Nation, which entered its trial a week ago and with a promise of up to $280 million, has received numerous pushbacks, Democrats currently do not have the power in either chamber to set the committee agenda. That meant Monday’s parallel hearing was different from most formal proceedings. Instead of sitting on the raised seats behind the dais, lawmakers sat at tables below, at eye level with witnesses, including California Attorney General Rob Bonta, one of the attorneys general pursuing the Live Nation-Ticketmaster fight, ousted Trump administration antitrust official Roger Alford, and several entertainment industry players, including a member of The Hold Steady. Several artists invited to participate in the forum declined out of fear for their livelihoods, according to House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-MD), who co-organized the forum with Senate Permanent Investigations Subcommittee on Homeland Security Rep. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).
Although their statements will not be officially entered into the congressional record, the forum gave Democrats a way to air their concerns, including that the DOJ settlement was the result of undue corporate influence. “It’s not some kind of pickup game,” Raskin told reporters. “Corruption so permeates the administration that we have to start building cases because it’s such an overwhelming task. We’ll use the products of all these parallel hearings to figure out where to go.” To highlight the importance of the forum, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) delivered the keynote address to kick it off.
“Corruption so permeates the administration that we have to start taking stock because it is such an overwhelming task”
Lawmakers pointed to the states’ resounding victory in the jury verdict as evidence that the DOJ settlement fell far short of what a good faith settlement would include, accusing it of being the result of corruption. On the 11-page verdict form, jurors checked “yes” to each question about whether the states proved their claims. The DOJ considered its agreement a victory for consumers. The deal will still face a Tunney Act review, which aims to ensure it is in the public interest.
Judges are generally reluctant to reject a regulation, so Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) has proposed legislation to strengthen the standard. But Alford, who was fired from the DOJ and later spoke out against lobbyist influence in antitrust deals, said this could be the rare case where the judge can throw out the DOJ deal, given that the same judge is now tasked with coming up with appropriate solutions to resolve Live Nation’s monopoly, potentially including a breakup.
“Divestment is the nuclear option”
Bonta said the states’ separation request, which is expected to be formally submitted this week, could go beyond a separation of Live Nation and Ticketmaster. They also plan to request the at least partial sale of certain parts of Live Nation or artist management activities. “Divestment is the nuclear option. We think it’s justified, but we want to think about how we ask this judge for appropriate relief,” he told reporters.
“The views shared yesterday misrepresent how the live events industry operates,” Dan Wall, Live Nation’s executive vice president of corporate and regulatory affairs, said in a statement. “Secondary ticketing and high demand sales are industry-wide challenges that exist in every promoter, venue and ticketing platform. This is precisely why Live Nation and Ticketmaster have long supported industry-wide resale reform, including price caps and stronger consumer protections, while continuing to invest in tools that help artists manage demand and protect fans.”
Live Nation has promised to appeal the jury’s verdict, and before it does, the judge may deny the states the full relief they seek. But Monday’s forum showed that even if that happened, Democrats would likely remain obsessed with how the deal was done.
