The Department of Justice is probing Live Nation Entertainment, the concert production giant and parent company of Ticketmaster, over it’s dominant presence within the music industry which some believe could lead to a breakup of the company, according to Politico (via the New York Post).
The company has been brutally scrutinized over the last week following the botched sale process for an upcoming Taylor Swift concert, but the Swift fiasco is not part of the DOJ’s investigation into the company.
The report indicates that the investigation began in earnest over the summer, and it is focused on whether and how the company uses its heft to muscle out competing ticketing services, concert promoters and other parts of the multibillion-dollar live music industry.
Musicians and venues have complained for years that the company enforces anti-competitive contract terms that they believe make it difficult for an artist being promoted by Live Nation to use a Ticketmaster competitor for ticket sales.
