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Getty Images The Roots perform at the Live Nation Celebration National Concert Day at Irving Plaza on May 1, 2017 in New York.
The Justice Department is preparing to take legal action against Live Nation Entertainment Inc. on allegations the company has sought to strong-arm concert venues into using its dominant Ticketmaster subsidiary, according to people familiar with the matter.
The department believes the concert-promotion giant’s conduct has violated the merger settlement Live Nation LYV, -7.33% and Ticketmaster reached with the government in 2010, the people said. Under that agreement, the department’s antitrust division allowed the companies to combine, but required them to abide by a range of conditions designed to keep consumer prices in check by preserving competition in the music and ticketing industries.
As ticket prices have risen, critics have questioned whether the settlement has worked as intended. It is due to expire next year, but the Justice Department now plans to ask a judge to extend the restrictions by several years and prohibit coercive conduct by Live Nation, the people said.
Live Nation doesn’t believe it has committed violations, according to people familiar with the matter.
An expanded version of this story is available at WSJ.com.
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