Fanimal Sues Ticketmaster/Live Nation for Destroying Business

Photo Credit: Kelvin Moquete

Now-defunct ticketing startup Fanimal is suing Ticketmaster/Live Nation for claims of antitrust practices designed to keep it out of the market.

Once-thriving ticketing startup Fanimal has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation and Ticketmaster with allegations that the live events giant used anti-competitive practices designed to oust the smaller company from the market. According to the filing, Live Nation and Ticketmaster’s long-term agreements with venues prevented Fanimal from competing fairly for large and lucrative events.

Fanimal’s complaint, which was filed on December 30 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, also alleges that Live Nation and Ticketmaster’s anti-competitive conduct included refusals to deal and threats to venues. Further, the filing says these practices prevented the company from fairly competing in the market for primary or secondary ticketing services.

The Los Angeles-based Fanimal was launched in 2019 as a social group ticketing platform. It utilized technology to enable fans to buy multiple tickets in a group share model in which each individual paid for their own seat within the group. The company raised $4 million in 2022 in a funding round led by Bullpen Capital.

But Fanimal says it was forced to shut down operations and sell off its assets in late 2024, thanks in no small part to Ticketmaster and Live Nation’s market dominance.

“Fanimal was an innovative ticketing startup focused on fans,” reads the lawsuit. “It had venture capital backing, a fast-growing user base of more than 250,000, and a projected valuation of more than $100 million within just a few years. But Fanimal fell prey to [Live Nation/Ticketmaster’s] anti-competitive practices and was forced to shutter its ticketing business and sell its parts.”

The timing for Fanimal’s lawsuit couldn’t be better, given that Live Nation and Ticketmaster are currently facing a (much larger) antitrust lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Justice. Filed in May 2024, the government’s case also hinges on claims that the live events juggernaut operates a monopoly. The case could go to trial this year if Live Nation’s multiple attempts to have the case dismissed fall through.

Besides the DOJ suit and the new one filed by Fanimal, Live Nation and Ticketmaster are facing multiple class actions from consumers who also assert the companies have cornered the live events industry unlawfully since their merger in 2010.