Sept 19 (Reuters) - Live Nation Entertainment ( LYV )

asked a federal judge in New York on Thursday to dismiss several

states' claims that the live event promoter harmed event-goers

by stifling competition with its ticket-selling arm,

Ticketmaster.

Live Nation seeks to dismiss part of the lawsuit the U.S.

Department of Justice and a coalition of states filed in May.

Prosecutors seek to break up Live Nation and argue the concert

promoter and Ticketmaster illegally inflated concert ticket

prices and hurt artists.

Last month, several states joined the lawsuit, taking the

total up to 39 states and the District of Columbia. Two thirds

of them also added claims seeking triple damages on behalf of

event-goers in their states.

Live Nation asked for those claims to be dismissed, saying

the allegations that it used threats, retaliation and long-term

contracts to prevent concert venues from using rival ticketing

services "have almost nothing to do with consumers or the

ticketing fees they pay."

"The premise of their claim appears to be that in a world in

which their marginal costs went down, venues would respond by

gratuitously reducing prices for consumers rather than pocketing

the incremental profit," the company said.

Live Nation also urged U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian

in Manhattan to dismiss a claim that it locks artists into using

its concert promoting services to book venues that it owns,

saying the law does not require it to let rival concert

promoters rent its amphitheaters.