We're offering a 2-week trial of WrapPRO for $1. If you’ve been wanting to check out our full coverage, now’s the time. Greetings! Live Nation and Ticketmaster won't be breaking up any time soon, and there are plenty of folks unhappy about it. Live Nation Entertainment, which owns both live events businesses, struck a deal with the Department of Justice to settle its antitrust lawsuit on Monday. The company faced a potential split of the companies, but now Live Nation will need to pay $200-$280 million in civil payments across 40 states. It will also open up its technology to third-party ticket sellers and shrink some of its long-term exclusivity contracts down to four years. Considering what the DOJ was initially seeking, the payments represent a slap on the wrist. In 2025, the company generated $1.3 billion in operating income off of $25.2 billion in revenue. Critics didn't waste time slamming the deal. "Donald Trump just betrayed every fan who’s been exploited by Ticketmaster," Sen. Elizabeth Warren tweeted on Monday. "This fine is less than 1% of Live Nation’s revenue last year AND lets them continue to rip off fans with a 15% 'Ticketmaster Tax.' It's wrong." Also unhappy was Judge Arun Subramanian, who questioned the parties in court on Monday as to why he was not informed of the agreement until Sunday night, days after it was reportedly struck on Thursday. “It shows absolute disrespect for the court, for the jury, for this entire process, and it is entirely unacceptable,” he said. Ultimately, Judge Subramanian could decide to not allow the settlement, while individual states could still continue with their own trials outside of New York federal court. Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said he would continue his case. The company has long been scrutinized for anticompetitive behavior since federal regulators approved the merger between Ticketmaster and Live Nation 2010. The uproar over Live Nation spiked in 2023 after fans struggled to purchase presale tickets to Taylor Swift's "Eras Tour," a disaster that prompted Swift to call the company out. “It’s difficult for me to trust an outside entity with these relationships and loyalties, and excruciating for me to just watch mistakes happen with no recourse,” she said in an Instagram post back then. The Biden-era Justice Department and 40 state attorneys general filed their suit against Live Nation and the Ticketmaster unit in 2024, accusing it of illegally maintaining monopoly powers and overcharging fans. CEO Michael Rapino said in a statement Monday that the company has "never relied on exclusivity to drive our ticketing business, it has simply been the result of having the best products, services and people in the industry.We are happy to take greater steps to empower artists and venues in their ticketing decisions, and are confident we will continue to succeed on the quality of what we deliver.” A lot of vocal fans would beg to differ. Roger Cheng Before we move on, be sure to follow me on my socials for the latest updates. DMs are open for tips.    
There's a reason why people aren't happy about the settlement, since the deal won't materially address the power Live Nation commands and the high fees it charges when you buy a ticket... 
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