Inside the controversial rise of Live Nation - as DOJ sues Ticketmaster's parent company that has endured recent clashes with Taylor Swift fans

Ticketmaster has been sued by the Department of Justice (DOJ) due to alleged antitrust violations by the ticket operator's parent company, Live Nation Entertainment. 

Prosecutors are expected to challenge the company's business practices following the merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation to form Live Nation Entertainment in 2010, according to CNN.

The lawsuit is expected to allege that the business has unfairly marginalized competitors and weakened customer choice to help increase the company's pricing brackets for event and concert tickets.

It comes after an investigation by the DOJ that began in 2022, which examined both Live Nation and Ticketmaster. 

Founded in 2010 following the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster, Live Nation promotes, operates and manages ticket sales for live events across the globe. 

The logo for Live Nation Entertainment is displayed on a screen on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York on May 3, 2019 (File image)

Jay Z performs at Made In America Music Festival, in Philadelphia, USA, on September 3 2017. Jay-Z has had disputes with Live Nation over the management of his Made in America Festival including disagreements over venue changes and logistical decisions that impacted the festival's organization and success.

It also owns and operates entertainment venues and manages the careers of music artists. 

The original Live Nation company was founded in 1996 by Robert F. X. Sillerman as SFX Entertainment, before being sold to Clear Channel Communications for $4.4 billion in 2000. 

The brand has grown enormously since it was first founded in the late 1990s, as Live Nation Entertainment generated a total of $22.75billion in 2023, according to financial statistics website Statista.

Following news of the anticipated lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment, here is a look some of the most controversial incidents involving the company - including a debacle over Taylor Swift tickets. 

Being forced to cancel Taylor Swift public ticket sale due to demand

Tickets for the US leg of Taylor Swift's Eras in 2023 sold so rapidly that the general public never even had a chance to buy them, causing fury among the singer's fans.

Ticketmaster canceled the public sale on November 17 2022, which was originally due to occur a day later due to 'extraordinarily high demands on ticketing systems and insufficient remaining ticket inventory'.

The announcement came after it had already sold over two million tickets in pre-sales for various different select groups.

'While it's impossible for everyone to get tickets to these shows, we know we can do more to improve the experience and that's what we're focused on,' the company said at the time.

Many fans shared their frustrations online, with one person writing in a scathing post on X, formerly Twitter: 'F**k you, Ticketmaster. I was about to check out my tickets for Taylor Swift and you glitched and sent me to the very back of the queue and now I'll probably never get tickets.'

'I HAD 17 PEOPLE AHEAD OF ME IN QUEUE AND TICKETMASTER BOOTED ME OUT OF QUEUE IM GONNA SCREAM I HAVE TO WAIT FOR 2000 + PEOPLE AGAIN AHHH WTF,' added another user.

'Ticketmaster - I had Taylor Swift tickets IN my cart - I got a different error. Five times. And then I got kicked out for trying too many times? Come on,' another angry fan fumed.

Nate Mendel, Dave Grohl, and Pat Smear of Foo Fighters perform onstage at Madison Square Garden on June 20, 2021 in New York City. The band has taken measures to combat ticket scalping and have criticized the companies for not doing enough to prevent it

Travis Scott performs at Madison Square Garden on December 21, 2023 in New York City. Following the Astroworld Festival disaster, Travis Scott faced lawsuits, and Live Nation was also implicated for its role in the organization and safety measures of the event

Taylor Swift performs at the Friends Arena in Stockholm, Sweden, May 17, 2024. Tickets for the US leg of Taylor Swift's Eras in 2023 sold so rapidly that the general public never even had a chance to buy them, causing fury among the singer's fans

Taylor Swift has blasted Ticketmaster for the mayhem surrounding her recent ticket sale, claiming that she was 'assured' the company could handle the high demand 'multiple times'

Following the fiasco, Swift addressed the situation in a statement posted to her Instagram Stories, saying that she was just as 'p***** off' as her fans.

'It goes without saying that I'm extremely protective of my fans,' she began in the lengthy post.

'We've been doing this for decades together and over the years, I've brought so many elements of my career in house.'

Taylor went on to explain - without mentioning the company by name - that she chose to use Ticketmaster's Verified Fan system because she thought it would 'improve the quality of her fans' experience,' despite it being 'really difficult' for her to 'trust an outside entity.'

'I've done this SPECIFICALLY to improve the quality of my fans' experience by doing it myself with my team, who care as much about my fans as I do,' she continued.

'It's really difficult for me to trust an outside entity with these relationships and loyalties, and excruciating for me to just watch mistakes happen with no recourse.'

Country star Zach Bryan takes shot at Ticketmaster with album title

In an Instagram post announcing the album on Christmas Eve of that year, Bryan lamented that it 'seems there is a massive issue with fair ticket prices to live shows lately' - while appearing to point the blame at Ticketmaster for high prices in the naming of the album

Live Nation Entertainment has also come in for open and hostile criticism from a flurry of other artists. 

At the end of 2022, country star Zach Bryan released an album entitled All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster (Live at Red Rocks).

In an Instagram post announcing the album on Christmas Eve of that year, Bryan lamented that it 'seems there is a massive issue with fair ticket prices to live shows lately' - while appearing to point the blame at Ticketmaster for high prices in the naming of the album. 

Pearl Jam's fightback against Ticketmaster

Legendary grunge band Pearl Jam were one of the first artists to attempt a public fightback against Ticketmaster by charging just $18 for a ticket with a booking fee of $1.80, which was considerably lower than Ticketmaster would charge for both.

At the time, the band accused Ticketmaster of buying out the majority of their rivals, which the group said allowed the company to charge high service fees, while major venues signed exclusivity agreements. 

The group pointed out that this left bands and fans unable to avoid feeding the company's business model. 

Pearl Jam: (from left to right) Eddie Vedder, Mike McCready, Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard and Dave Abbruzzese are pictured at Pinkpop Festival, in Landgraaf, the Netherlands, on June 8, 1992. In the 1990s, Pearl Jam famously took a stand against Ticketmaster (now part of Live Nation) due to what they perceived as monopolistic practices and high service fees

Although the work of Pearl Jam set a precedent for bands in calling out the methods of ticketing companies when it came to concert ticket pricing, the move did not pay dividends for the band when they toured in 1995.

By virtue of not using Ticketmaster as a tour operator, they had to play venues such as sporting fields that were not build to hold concerts - and most dates were canceled as a result.

Ticketmaster did not face any consequences as a result of Pearl Jam's stance. 

Speaking about the fallout between the company and the band at the time, a Ticketmaster spokesperson said: 'Getting attacked by a superstar rock band is a lot like being accused of kicking your dog.

'There's a general presumption of guilt until proven innocent. Luckily the facts were on our side, and we prevailed.'