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c-span, 45 years and counting. wered by cable. >> u.s. attorney general merick garland announced the justice dep suing live natid ticket master for concert industry. the attorney general about house republican efforts to hold him in contempt of congress and the legal challenges r president donald trump. >> earlier today the department of justice joined byistrict of columbia sued live ticket master for violating the sherman anti-trust act. in recent nation ticket master's

exorbitant fee and technological failures have been criticized by fans and artists ali. but we are not here today because live master's conduct is inconvenient or frustrating.re because, as we allege, that conduct isnte an illegal. our complaint makes clear what happens when a monopolist dedicates its resources to entrenching its monopoly power and insulating itself from competition rather than in better products and services. we allege lnati has a legally monopolized markets across the live concert industryed states for far too long p. eak it up. ticket master made itself ubiquitous in the industry. it directly manages more

than 400 artists andro more tha% of concert promotions across thentd it owns or contros more than 6f phitheaters in the united states. sustain this dominance, live nation relies on unlawful anti-competitive conduct to exercise its monopolist to control over live event industry in the united states and over the artists, independent promotors and venuest the result is that fans fees, artists have fewer opportunities to play concerts, smaller promotors get squeezed out and venues have fewer real choices for ticketing services. as detailed ioulainthey lock out ticketing because of large term ticketing

last over ath venue decade, as well as by acquiring venues with exclusive agreements that cover more than 70% of concert ticket sales at major concert venues across the country, ticket master can impose a seemingly endlessis of fees on fans. those include ticketing fees, convenience fees, platinum fees, pri master fees, per order fees, handling es processing fe, among others. for fans in the united states, this illegal conduct means higher prices. in other countries where venues a by ticket master's exclusive ticketing projects, venues often use multiple ticketing companies for the same event and fans cee loor fees and more innovative ticketing products as a result. we also allege that live

nation ticx■b master uses these long term ticketing's contracts with venues and controls unlawfully pressuring artists to agreeing to use their promotion services.n ten sacrifices profits it could earn as a venue letting its venue sit empty rather than opening them to ti do not use live nation promotion sees concert season. live nation has deployed anti-competitive tactics towards artists and venues to using their services and to charge fans excessive fees but worked strategically and illegally to stop rivals across any of its businesses. as detailed in our complaint, live nation suffocates its competition using a variety of tactics from acquisitions of smaller

regional promotors and venues to threats and retaliation, to agreements with rival designed to neutralize them. this has included acquiring or co-opting key independent promotors even when the economics of a ke sense for live nation's promotion business. in our complaint, live nation acquired a entertainment, an independent promotor in ■÷■$■, nnessee. live nation's chief strategy officer assured ec even though, quote, the numbers are not supeit and this feels like more of a defensive move, the acquisition helped, quote, grow moat in the nashville market. when faced with another potential competitor, live nation took action to ensure the competito would not threaten its dominance in the live music industry.

initially categorized that competitor, theenue operator, o.q. group, as, quote, one of its biggest cpetitor threats. however, oak view and live nation morphed from competitors into partners, as detailed r complaint, live nation executives edly scolded oak view for trying to compete. in one instance in 2016, live nation c.e.o. warned oak view that competition would only lead to artists demanding more compensation. the live nation c.e.o. emailed oak view wrg,uotelet's make sure we don't let them now start playing usrrrtist agency. oak view backed down. a similarn 2022, live nation c.e.o. scolded oak view's c.e.o., quote, who would be so stupid to do this and play into the artist's agent's arms?

close quote. oak view again backed down. quote, we promoted without■ won't, said a c.e.o., and later added, quote, i never w competitors, close quote. we also allege live nation has repeatedly expanding in the u.s. concert promotions market through threats and retaliation. ination threatened to retaliate against private efi silver lakes one of the ladder's stopped competing with live nation for artist ion ntracts in the united states. live nation c.e.o. told silver lake that he, quote, failed to understand why silver lake, quote,ontinued to invest in a business that competes with, close quote. the threats ultimatelyd an silvr

lake has tried to tell altogether. we allege live nation does n maintain its dominance in the live entertainment industry by staying ahead of its competition on the merits. it doesfully eliminating its competition.liveation controls the live entertainment industry in the united states because it is breaking the law. i am grateful to the st department's anti-trust division for their excellent work of this case. th live entertainment industry is complex and well-sourced. taking required persistence and diligence by the awye behind me today and their team. am proud to work with them. people always remember the first ti were transformed by live music.

i remember as a senior in college going to a bonnie raitt concert and seeing an up-and-coming artistce play as a warm-up act. we didn't know we had just seen thfu of rock 'n' roll. the justice department filed this lawsuit on be o fans who should be able to go to concerts without a moly standing in their way. we have this lawsuit on behalf of artists who could be able to plan their concerts by their fans and not be dictated by a unlawful monopolist. we have filed this lawsuit on behalf of the promotors and venues who should be able to compete on a level have filed this lawsuit on behalf of the am is time for fans and artists to stop paying the price for live nation's monopoly.

it is time to restore competition and innovation in the ainment industry. it is time to break up nation/ticket master. the american people are re thank you. and now i'll turn it over t the deputy attorney general. everyone. thank you, mr. attorney general. today's announcement reflects the latest efforts by the department of justice to combat corporate misconduct. since day one of administration, we've prioritized holding the most serious corporate wrongdoers accountable from bribe payers launderers to price fixers. our fight against corporate wrongdoing includes an intense focus on anti-competitive conduct, which disadvantages consumers, woer and businesses of all kinds.

announcement alleges that live nation and subsidiary ticket master have engaged in anti-competitive conduct to submit their dominancof l concert market. it lays out how live nation/ticketac as the gatekeepr for an entire industry, reaching its proverbial hands into every stage of the concert life cycle, from who promotes the shows to where they happen to how they are ticketed. and with itsclusnary conduct, live nation effectively reaches into the pockets of conceer by driving up fees. t years, live nation has intentionally blocked others out of the market, limiting where shows can take place, who can sell tickets, and who benefits from them. as alleged complaint, they've employed a range of tactics to keep out of the

market. longm ticketing contacts, cereal acquisitions, real threatening to retaliate against venues. today's lawsuit the justice department's anti-trust division is an enormous step forward in preventing one company from dictating the ebbs and entire industry. it's a step forward to giveor]ñ venues, promotors, and ticket sellers a chance to the biggest shows. and it's a step forward in making this era of live music more accessible t fans, the artists, and the industry want to attend a they need to pay-on fees shouldn't break the bank. vee wants to host the next big show, they should have the when a regionalompe promotor wants to

publicize an artist, they shouldn't have to fear retaliation. pu simply, one company should not have the power to determine who gets to pticipate in the marketplace. i want to thank the women and men ofhe anti-trust division for their work and assistaenal cantr for his leadership to protect consumers, rf businesses. today and always, the part of te foundation of the department's incorporate promote fairness, to drive deterrence and to advance theule law. thank you. and with that, i'll turn it over to assistant attorney general cantor. >> thank you attorney general garland and deputy attorney general

monaco. . cantor: the system is broken because ticket master controls the a monopoly. todae s and 30 states southerns general filed an anti-trust lawsuit that seeks to restore competition by breaking up live nation/ticket master. mr. kanter: the recipe for live music includes three key artists, venues, and fans. :wve nation/ticket master's dominance has allowed it to exert control over all three. it starts with power over artists. today live nation/ticket master represents hundreds of artists through its dominant promotions business which controls the organizing, marketing, and financing of large co live nation ticketmast also ownr controls venues in which these concerts are held.

60 of america's 100 large amphitheaters. nation/ticket master not only earns money from tickets and fees but also from concessions, merchandise, sponsorships, parking.ticket master's subsidiary, live nation controls primary ticketing and hundreds of other venues across the country. and it through these exclusive ticketing arrangements americans face the dreaded ticket master tax. seemingly endless set of fees ironically named convenience fee when our lawsuit explains through detailed allegations how live natiket master weaponized and entrenched its power at

the expense of artists and musicans across the entire country. just by way ofle, the latkass how l nation fought to avoid spending wars that would have returned more money s. this is bad news for all artists but it's especially bad news for working musicians who do not have the power to fight back. despite its already massivee d power, live nation/ticket master has small and regional promotors that live fead could one day threaten its dominance. the complaint also alleges live nation/ticket master threatens and retaliates against venues who try to choose a different promotor or ticketer. if you're an artist, youunderstt stake. use live nation for promotion osk

in its own words, live uses its ex as a, quote, a hedge against significant improvements by the competition or even a new competitor, end quote. but the cost of that hedge is one that we all pay. for example, broken ticketing websitehndard customer service that still as ticket master hasle said, quote, now we not only kth person that bought the ticket, but also the three people that you're taking to the show. each of these actswful on its ot taken together, they're even worse. co these practices foreign an impenetrable corporate barrier around the live et industry. that's why with today's

lawsuit we seek to hold live nation/ticket master accountable for violating the anti-trust laws. the legendary songwriter harland howard famously described american music as three chords and the truth. this is ■gmo just a clever turn of phrase, it speaks to the importance of music to free speech and the public discourse. mr. howard was right, words and one of our country's most cherished forms of free expression. music is the soundtrack for our lives. as a country, it is how we communicate about politics, love and humor, pain, joy, and everything in between. it is here, there, and everywhere. live music should not be available onlyosí afford to pay

the ticket master tax. we are here today to fight for competition so that we can reopen the doors to the live music industry for all. in closing, i would like to thank anti-trust division and its staff who today rock stars performing to the delight of an entire nation. i would also like to thank the attorneys general and their amazing staff from the states of arizona, arkansas, california, colorado, connecticut, the district of columbia, florida, illinois, maryland, massachusetts, michigan, minnesota, nevada, new hampshire, new jersey, new york, north carolina, ohio, oklahoma, oregon, pennsylvania, rhode island, south carol tennessee, texas, virginia, washington, west virginia,

wisconsin, and wyoming. they join us today in filing this important and historic case. thank you.e on topic and one off topic. i don't know who can answer the question. we lk aboue ticket master fees, are we talking about tens of llars or hundreds of dollars in terms of the average consumer? >> good question which i will give to mr. kanter. mr. kanter: ask the consumer about the they're paying and the fees they're paying. in the aggregate itto billions n dollars across the entire country and the entire industry. reporter: mr. attorney general, with atiocoming out the supreme court justice is having a flag flying overisroperty and with two january 6 related cases before the

court, do you have concerns and is there anything that the justice department can do or say about the situat mr. garland: the justice nt has cases before the supreme court so i can't comment on any justice. reporter: we rarse the d.o.j. at this phase of enforcement clearly state what kind remedies they would be looking for in terms of the case.ver,n this case it's very clear you're seeking toakck master and live nation. why did you didhis so clear at this time and what kind of rem or potential result in the case? mr. garland: as the complaintcrtick master is an important element in the gears. this the fly wheel of

the at necessary to separate ticket master from live nation to t overall dominance of the industry and all the affects on consumers, fans, promotors, artists that we t about. mr. kanter: some monopolies are so problems so difficult to address that they require decisive and solutions. we request a remedy that has been used in anti-trust law, going ver a hundred years which is structure relief. reporter: i have two questions for the al. neither of them on topic. mr. garland: i'm surprised. reporter: most of us got a solicitation email from the former president of the united states that the justice department had mar-a-lago raid. first, can you give us

some clarification on that particular point that he's making and whether or not deadly force is authorized in other intervent including the search of mr. biden'siand office? and the second question is -- that one, that allegation is false, and it isly dangerous. the document that being referred to in the partment standardustice policy limiting the use of force. t f.b.i. advises, it is part of the standard opeon plan for searches and in fact, it was even used in the consensual search of president biden's home. reporter: secondtions obviously moving ahead wit a resolution on you. i wonder if you have

comments or if you tell us whether or not you watched the house oversight committe mr. garland: i caught part of thatring on ""saturday night live"." but seriously, disappointed. theti as i've explained before, has gone to ths to accommodate the legitimate interests of the committees. i've released a full and unredacted report of mr. hur. we permitted to testify in over five hours with everything that happened in this investigation and we the transcs of the interviews in which the committee is interested. the other side, the president of the united states has asserted executive privilege in order to protect the justice department's ability in futureion in high profile cases, particularly involving

the white house. my job is to protect the pament's ability to conduct those investigations. my job is to protect the of law, and that's what i'm doing. tw questions, thelan justice department's approval mistake? then a differenticgarland: one a time. on topic. i'm going to punt them the other one on or off topic? reporter: a different topic. mr. garland: i think our complaint adequately describes the did not resolve te matter as far as we're concerned but i'llet mr. kanter say a little more and i'll come back for you. mr. kanter: the last action involved one

action. this action involves conduct that addresses nearlyec of the music supply chain. it involved clayton act, specifically section 7. the following includes the sherman reporter: then attorney general, the justice department said in court t voters deserve a quick resolution to the cases ld tmp. if that does not happen and there is not a resolution or any trial before the election, would that be a failure of justice? mr. garland: the justice department'sion is to seek a speedy trial. a that matter is now in the hands of thertnogoing to speculate any further. >> thank you, everyone. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2023]

>> president biden and first lady jien are hosting a white honor of kenyanner in presid william ruto. tonight show highlights of e including the kenyan's a portico, guests in dance and a toast to william ruto and his wife. watch the state dinner live a 11:tern on our free video app or online at c-span.org. 1979, in partnership with the cable industry, c-span has provided complete coverage of the halls of ng from the house and senate floors to congressional hearings, briefings, and committee meetings. c-span gives you a front row h issues are debated and decided with no