12:28 PM EDT, 05/23/2024 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with Live Nation's comments in fourth and fifth paragraphs, stock move in sixth paragraph.)

The US Justice Department and 30 state and district attorneys general sued Ticketmaster-parent Live Nation (LYV) Thursday, saying the company should be broken up because it has a monopoly in ticketing and concert promotion.

"We allege that Live Nation relies on unlawful, anticompetitive conduct to exercise its monopolistic control over the live events industry in the [US] at the cost of fans, artists, smaller promoters, and venue operators," said Attorney General Merrick Garland.

"The result is that fans pay more in fees, artists have fewer opportunities to play concerts, smaller promoters get squeezed out, and venues have fewer real choices for ticketing services. It is time to break up Live Nation-Ticketmaster."

The civil antitrust lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

"The DOJ's lawsuit won't solve the issues fans care about relating to ticket prices, service fees, and access to in-demand shows," Live Nation said in a statement to MT Newswires.

"Calling Ticketmaster a monopoly may be a PR win for the DOJ in the short term, but it will lose in court because it ignores the basic economics of live entertainment, such as the fact that the bulk of service fees go to venues, and that competition has steadily eroded Ticketmaster's market share and profit margin," Live Nation said.

Live Nation shares were falling 6.7% in recent trading.

Price: 94.66, Change: -6.74, Percent Change: -6.65