Photo Credit: Laurin Steffens
Live Nation’s amended court-mandated disclosure revealing Trump’s presence at key meetings with the DOJ raises even more questions, according to the Coalition for Ticket Fairness.
Following Live Nation’s amended court-mandated disclosure this week, which revealed that President Trump was present at the March 5 meeting in which the company finalized its antitrust settlement agreement with the Department of Justice, the Coalition for Ticket Fairness (CTF) has issued a statement to Digital Music News. Besides the March 5 meeting, the revision also clarified that Trump personally questioned Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino about the federal lawsuit.
“Live Nation’s latest disclosure raises serious questions about the transparency of the process that produced its antitrust settlement with the Department of Justice,” said Geoff Vetter, Spokesperson for the Coalition of Ticket Fairness. “The company failed to disclose that President Trump was present at the meeting where the settlement was finalized, and only now has clarified that the president personally questioned CEO Michael Rapino about the federal antitrust case.”
“Even after a jury found that Live Nation and Ticketmaster violated antitrust law, the company is fighting to preserve a settlement that protects its market power and leaves the companies together rather than restoring meaningful competition,” Vetter’s statement continued.
“This case represents a critical opportunity to address decades of concerns about Ticketmaster’s dominance and the lack of meaningful competition in the live entertainment industry. Millions of fans and independent businesses have a stake in an outcome that promotes fairness, transparency, and consumer choice.”
The court and Congress should demand full transparency into how this deal came together and ensure that any final agreement delivers real, enforceable reforms. Americans deserve a fair, competitive ticketing marketplace, not backroom deals that allow a monopoly to escape accountability.”
Live Nation’s disclosure stresses that while Trump made a “brief” appearance during the March 5 meeting, the president “did not participate in any substantive settlement discussions.” The statement also clarifies that while Trump inquired about the federal antitrust lawsuit during a meeting with Rapino in February, the pair did not discuss any “substantive terms regarding any potential settlement.”
However, The Wall Street Journal previously reported that Trump instructed a senior DOJ official to settle the Live Nation case ahead of the antitrust trial, but Live Nation’s amended filing does not mention that reported interaction. Despite that, the revised disclosure aligns with WSJ’s report, which stated that Trump and Rapino met in February, primarily to discuss the Kennedy Center. It’s worth noting that the WSJ said that this meeting took place on February 27, while Live Nation’s account does not specify the exact date.
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