According to The Wall Street Journal, the Department of Justice’s antitrust division is preparing to file a lawsuit against Live Nation in the next few weeks.

While the probe had begun earlier in the year, it was first revealed in Nov. 2022 after Ticketmaster’s disastrous on-sale rollout for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.

The debacle put a magnifying glass on many issues that had long dogged fans, like wait times and high price mark-ups.

Just last month, the company’s head of corporate affairs, Dan Wall, published an essay that argued against the claim that the alleged monopoly was the reason for high ticket prices.

But its merger with Live Nation — the biggest concert promoter and venue operator — in 2010 is the source of many of the modern complaints about the practices of the entwined companies.

While Ticketmaster reportedly holds over 80% of the primary ticket sale market, a spokesperson for the company argued to the WSJ that it actually faces “more competition today than it has ever had, and the deal terms with venues show it has nothing close to monopoly power.”

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