Washington | The US Justice Department on Thursday (Friday AEST) sued Live Nation Entertainment, accusing the concert giant, which owns Ticketmaster, of operating an “entrenched” illegal monopoly that “suffocates its competition” in the live events industry.

In a lawsuit that has been joined by 29 states, the US government accuses Live Nation and Ticketmaster of leveraging their sprawling empire to dominate the industry by locking venues into exclusive long-term ticketing contracts, pressuring artists to use their services and retaliating against rivals that seek to use alternatives.

Bloomberg