Antitrust Investigation of Live Nation Sparks an Investor Class Action Lawsuit

Several law firms are investigating whether Live Nation lied to investors by failing to disclose the scope of its legal vulnerability for allegedly abusing its power in the live music industry.

New York-based firm Bernstein Liebhard sent out a notice on Tuesday soliciting investors to join a lawsuit that was filed last week against Live Nation, with three others already having done the same in the wake of reports that the Department of Justice plans to sue the company for antitrust violations. In a class action filed on Aug. 4 in California federal court, investors accused the company of lying to them about allegedly anticompetitive company operations that include charging bloated fees, bundling services and retaliating against venues that choose a ticketing service provider other than Ticketmaster.

Last year, The New York Times reported that the Justice Department had opened an antitrust investigation into Live Nation, which owns Ticketmaster, after the ticketing platform’s systems crashed during a highly-anticipated presale for Taylor Swift tickets. It became a flashpoint into the company’s power over the live music industry.

Read the source article at The Hollywood Reporter