Photo Credit: Live Nation (Michael Rapino, CEO)
Live Nation settles a lawsuit filed by investors claiming the company failed to warn them about its antitrust activity that led to the DOJ’s case.
Live Nation has agreed to pay $20 million to settle the dispute, which alleged the company misled investors about its “compliance with antitrust laws.” Investors claimed Live Nation did not warn them about the regulatory scrutiny it faced, which led to the Justice Department’s antitrust investigation and subsequent case.
In a filing last week in California federal court, attorneys for the plaintiffs said the resulting deal with Live Nation would provide adequate compensation for “thousands of investors” covered by the settlement. Live Nation, meanwhile, continues to deny any wrongdoing.
The investors’ case, filed back in 2023 as a proposed class action, claimed Live Nation failed to disclose to its investors that it engaged in anti-competitive behavior and was “likely to incur regulatory scrutiny.” When the Justice Department’s investigation was revealed in the press ahead of its filing in May, Live Nation’s share price dropped. This, according to the investors’ case, caused significant losses.
“Defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements and omissions of material fact about the company’s compliance with antitrust laws, its cooperation with governmental investigations, and the regulatory risks it was currently facing,” the investors’ case read.
“The gradual revelation of the truth about the company’s anti-competitive conduct in violation of antitrust laws, refusal to fully cooperate with investigators, and undisclosed risks of regulatory action caused precipitous declines in the market value of the company’s stock.”
Meanwhile, the DOJ — alongside dozens of states — filed their case in May over accusations that Live Nation and Ticketmaster form an illegal monopoly in the live music industry. That case remains pending, accusing Live Nation of a number of missteps, including coercing artists to use the company’s promotion services and retaliating against venues that did not use Ticketmaster.
