At Spotlight Forum, Democrats Sound Alarm on Corrupt DOJ Antitrust Settlement That Allows Live Nation-Ticketmaster to Continue Abusing Its Monopoly to Harm Music Fans, Artists, and Venues

Washington, D.C. (May 19, 2026)—Rep. Jamie Raskin, Ranking Member of the House Committee on the Judiciary, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Ranking Member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), led a spotlight forum examining the Live Nation-Ticketmaster monopoly and a controversial Department of Justice (DOJ) sweetheart deal that weakens antitrust enforcement and rips off consumers. 

The hearing featured testimony from: California Attorney General Rob Bonta; Roger Alford, former Trump Administration Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Division; Tom DeGeorge, Tampa venue owner, The Crowbar; Jerry Mickelson, Chicago venue owner and promoter, Jam Productions; and Franz Nicolay, keyboardist and pianist, The Hold Steady.

Live Nation-Ticketmaster’s monopolistic power over live entertainment is still stifling the industry. 

• Ranking Member Raskin explained: “Millions of Americans have had the exact same experience of logging in to buy tickets to see music in concert and finding the costs are extraordinarily high. Why are they so expensive? One corporate giant controls the entire entertainment ecosystem, from the venues where concerts take place, to sales of the tickets, to artist bookings on their concert tours, to the concert promoters who organize the tours. That concentrated power and control, and lack of competition defines nearly every aspect of entertainment today.”  
• Venue owner Jerry Mickelson explained: “We are shut out of the industry I have spent my entire life in. I am sitting on the sideline watching the industry go by in front of me. They are taking bands from me that we have historical relationships with. We don’t even get calls from agents that we used to deal with every day. We are out of the bidding process. We are not part of the industry. We will soon only be producing tribute bands the way it’s going. It is pretty disheartening to be in a business you love and not be able to participate in a meaningful way.”  
• Venue owner Tom DeGeorge said: “A breakup needs to happen. But if Live Nation is still controlling the tours, they still control the industry. After 20 years, my venue will close on July 31st of this year. Last month, Live Nation announced plans to build a 4,300-capacity venue in my venue’s neighborhood. That is how this happens. Not with a knockout punch, but slowly show by show, year by year, until one day you read that a brand new Live Nation venue is coming into your neighborhood, while the small, independent venue you spent decades building through hard work is closing its doors.”  

Trump’s Justice Department recently cut a sweetheart settlement deal with Live Nation-Ticketmaster, essentially giving the company a slap on the wrist.

• Former Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust Division under Trump, Roger Alford, said: “Why, we traditional Republicans ask, have the rich men north of Richmond betrayed the hardworking Americans who struggle to enjoy the simple pleasures of life? If music is good for the soul, then why can so few afford it? And why would we give up the chance to do something about it? The answer is the DOJ has abused its prosecutorial discretion to reach a settlement that I predict will be found to not be in the public interest.” 
• Rep. Pramila Jayapal warned: “Corporations now know exactly what the game plan is to succeed here. Hire MAGA-aligned lobbyist like Mike Davis to make giant contributions to Trump-affiliated campaigns and ventures, overstep the antitrust division, and go directly to senior Trump officials to dismiss or settle lawsuits and allow mergers to proceed. And who cares if it raises home prices on consumers or health care costs for Americans, or if it stacks the decks against small businesses?” 
• Musician Franz Nicolay said: “I think some artists reasonably are worried about retaliation. Artists are going to have to maintain a working relationship with Live Nation for the foreseeable future, to be able to tour successfully once you’re playing venues of a certain size. Many other artists are cynical after years of inadequate response, even after this huge win. It’s going to take time for artists to see its real. The tools of antitrust in the past has been used to prevent musicians from working together. I want to credit Representative Ross for her Protect Working Musicians Act which could go some ways towards helping that.” 
• Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove asked California Attorney General Rob Bonta: “What should Congress understand about the broader harm to workers, consumers, and creative economies when consolidation like this goes unchecked?” Attorney General Bonta explained: “All of those entities get hurt—artists, fans, consumers, businesses that just want to compete on a level playing field and have an opportunity because of their product to succeed. And that’s what we’re safeguarding here, a free and fair market. And that’s what Ticketmaster-Live Nation have interfered with and disrupted and undermined. And this isn’t an opinion. There’s laws, rules of the road.” 
• Former Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Roger Alford said of influence peddling at the DOJ: “It’s unprecedented. We have seen lobbyists try, in the past, to have influence over law enforcement matters, but to have this level of success is truly shocking. […]  To my amazement, senior officials in Pam Bondi’s office basically overruled us because of recommendations from lobbyists that have no idea whatsoever about the antitrust laws.” 

State AGs are fighting back while Trump’s DOJ has abandoned the field.

• Attorney General Bonta said: “The way the US DOJ treated the states is not how teammates treat each other. It was without communication. It was disrespectful. It was weak in the way they settled the case. They left us flat-footed for a moment, but we regrouped quickly and we are proud of the result we were able to get. We quickly assessed that their settlement was very insufficient and not worthy of what the American people deserve in this case, and we were able to fight for more, and we got more.”  
• Rep. Jayapal said: “This Federal abandonment really does have dire consequences for American consumers, except that we have this incredible bipartisan coalition of state AGs that has stepped up with courage and with diligence.” 
• Attorney General Bonta said: “Our case is proof of just how far states can and will go to protect our residents and our businesses from big corporations using their power to illegally raise prices and rip off Americans. And we will do that with or without the federal administration.”