Emails at the heart of the government's Ticketmaster affair

Live Nation Entertainment, owner of Ticketmaster, is accused of violating antitrust laws. The Justice Department relied on the concert giant's internal communications in its lawsuit.

In its lawsuit accusing Live Nation Entertainment, the concert giant that owns Ticketmaster, from being an illegal monopoly, the Justice Department relied on a series of internal communications offering a rare behind-the-scenes look at the industry.

The Justice Department made its case in a lengthy complaint filed Thursday. that the 2010 merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster harmed competition, hindered innovation and led to higher ticket prices and fees for consumers. He called for the company to be dissolved.

In response, Live Nation, which is also the world's largest concert promoter, said it would not was not operating as a monopoly and denied having the unilateral power to increase prices. Contrary to the government's argument about its great power, Live Nation says it now faces greater competition than ever and that the Justice Department's suit "will not reduce ticket prices or service fees

To detail its allegations, the government relied on revealing emails it claims were written by Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino , and other influential figures in the concert world.

Here are some of those accusations.

Kanye West's concert from a potential rival< p class="css-at9mc1 evys1bk0">A 2021 episode gets to the heart of the Justice Department's allegations that Live Nation went to extreme lengths to protect its competitive advantage.

Late that year, the government said Live Nation "threatened commercial retaliation" against private equity firm Silver Lake, which had an investment in TEG, an Australian ticketing company and of promotions who appeared at a highly anticipated Kanye West and Drake benefit show at the L.A. Coliseum. Silver Lake had also invested in Oak View Group, a venue management company with close ties to Live Nation.

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