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Live Nation Begins Paying States Under DOJ Settlement

Live Nation Begins Paying States Under DOJ Settlement

Photo Credit: Mackenzie Marco

Thirty states are charging forward with antitrust claims against Live Nation, though six other states have officially accepted the Justice Department’s settlement. Now, legal documents shared with Digital Music News reveal that many states negotiated multimillion-dollar payouts from Live Nation as part of their settlement agreements.

We broke down the remaining state plaintiffs’ action yesterday, which saw the high-stakes trial restart. Of course, the DOJ settlement means the federal government is no longer litigating against Live Nation.

And as mentioned, multiple states have opted to accept that settlement’s terms and drop their own claims. Admittedly, things aren’t set in stone here; as of Monday afternoon, only Nebraska, Arkansas, and South Dakota had formally submitted settlement notices.

But in a subsequent joint filing, those states were joined by Oklahoma, Iowa, and Mississippi. All the now-former plaintiffs confirmed they’d attached term sheets containing “the same terms as the term sheet executed by Live Nation and the United States Department of Justice.”

More interestingly, however, the settling states also shed light on their payment particulars. As we reported last week, Live Nation’s DOJ deal includes a $280.4 million “settlement fund” earmarked specifically for the states’ damages claims.

From this tranche, Live Nation has now agreed to pay Oklahoma $4,967,661.87; Nebraska $3,588,759.96; Mississippi $2,780,037.76; Iowa $3,000,000; Arkansas $3,548,637.22; and South Dakota $677,920, documents shared with DMN reveal.

This $18.56 million overall payout means Live Nation’s dispersed about 7% of the settlement fund thus far – leaving plenty to potentially distribute to different states yet. Furthermore, though the fund itself is covering the payments, each of the settling states noted that the “commitment is not conditioned on the availability of funds from the Settlement Fund.”

These points are worth keeping in mind amid the trial, which kicked off today with testimony from Live Nation’s U.S. concerts president, Bob Roux.

His responses to questions from a Live Nation attorney won’t come as a surprise. Per Inner City Press, Roux indicated that big-name artists are free to play various amphitheaters and venues besides amphitheaters. And AEG, for its part, doesn’t allow Live Nation to promote shows in its (AEG’s) amphitheaters, the exec communicated in different words.

Similarly, the testimony of a ticked-off fan witness didn’t contain any revelations; the individual said she’d attended fewer concerts due to ticket prices and fees.

Meanwhile, ongoing trial aside, filings are still flying. The states, we noted yesterday, are looking to stop Live Nation mentioning its “community engagement or altruistic endeavors,” including ticket donations to military vets, during the trial.

But Live Nation is adamant that the evidence and statements are relevant because “[c]ommunity engagement is a critical way in which ticketers, promoters, and venues seek to highlight their culture, connect with their clients, and differentiate themselves from their competitors when responding to RFPs.”