DOJ Investigating Live Nation, AEG Over COVID-Era Refund Strategies
The Department of Justice is investigating concert promoters Live Nation and AEG in a criminal probe regarding their responses to refunds for pandemic-era concert cancellations, Live Nation confirmed Thursday in a statement, denying any wrongdoing.
Bloomberg first broke the news of the investigation, reporting that it is linked to an initiative Live Nation, AEG and the major Hollywood booking agencies had announced during the early days of the pandemic in 2020. As Bloomberg reported, the DOJ started investigating during the Biden era, but that the efforts increased during the Trump administration. It's unclear if the investigation will result in any formal charges filed.
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'It is not illegal for artist agents, promoters and ticketing companies to work together to solve the unprecedented challenges of a global pandemic,' Dan Wall, Live Nation's EVP of corporate and regulatory affairs, said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. 'While Live Nation contributed to this industry effort in good faith, we set our own unique policies and refund terms to support fans and artists. We did not collude with AEG or anyone else. We are proud of our leadership during those trying times, and if any charges result from this investigation, we will defend them vigorously.'
Reps for the DOJ and AEG declined or didn't respond to requests for comment.
A source familiar with the matter told The Hollywood Reporter that the DOJ was looking at COVID policies while the department was looking into its civil monopoly lawsuit against the company, but that it wasn't an area of focus as the DOJ continued the building the civil case that would be filed in May of 2024.
As Bloomberg notes, there's a five-year statute of limitations on criminal charges, meaning the department has to decide soon on whether it will bring criminal charges forward.
The news of the probe comes as Live Nation continues to face the DOJ's monopoly suit. The Justice Department called for a breakup of Live Nation's eponymous concert promotion arm and the ticketing giant Ticketmaster last year, claiming the company has leveraged its power in concerts and ticketing to stifle competition. Live Nation has consistently denied the claims.
Since the new administration has taken over, advocates and lawmakers have called on the DOJ to keep prioritizing the suit, with the American Economic Liberties Project writing that 'past attempts to cut deals with this giant have been unsuccessful in stopping abuses of independent venues, artists and fans. Nothing short of a breakup will do.'
Thus far, the most significant live music legislation in the Trump era has been the president's executive order signed at the end of March to target ticket scalping.
As part of that order, the DOJ and Federal Trade Commission announced a public inquiry into the live music business last week to seek potential remedies to issues in the industry impacting consumers.
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