Oregon
Oregon joins federal antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation, Ticketmaster, saying public hurt – Salem Reporter
Oregon has joined a group of 29 states in a federal lawsuit against Ticketmaster and its owner over an alleged entertainment industry monopoly that harms customers.
The 124-page suit, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in New York by the U.S. Department of Justice, 29 states and the District of Columbia, accuses Ticketmaster and Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. of using its control of artists and venues to stifle innovation and “bend the industry” to its benefit.
Live Nation, which boasts it’s the world’s “largest live entertainment company,” manages 400 musicians and owns 265 venues, including Bend’s Hayden Homes Amphitheater in Oregon. It also pitched building a venue in Portland last year.
That ownership, which includes more than 60 of the 100 top amphitheaters in the U.S., brings wide power, the suit said.
“Control over a venue not only confers on Live Nation the ability to dictate whether fans can see a particular artist they love, but in many cases also provides Live Nation control over many aspects of the concert experience and a host of additional revenue streams ranging from sponsorships to food and beverage sales,” the lawsuit said.
Live Nation and Ticketmaster have used their power to freeze innovation while boosting their bottom line and hurting the public, the suit said.
“The result is that fans pay more in fees, artists have fewer opportunities to play concerts, smaller promoters get squeezed out and venues have fewer real choices for ticketing services,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. “It is time to break up Live Nation-Ticketmaster.”
In a statement, Live Nation said the lawsuit won’t affect the things that the public cares about: ticket prices, service fees and access to shows.
“Calling Ticketmaster a monopoly may be a PR win for the DOJ in the short term, but it will lose in court because it ignores the basic economics of live entertainment, such as the fact that the bulk of service fees go to venues and that competition has steadily eroded Ticketmaster’s market share and profit margin. Our growth comes from helping artists tour globally, creating lasting memories for millions of fans and supporting local economies across the country by sustaining quality jobs,” the statement said.
It added that it will fight the lawsuit.
“We will defend against these baseless allegations, use this opportunity to shed light on the industry, and continue to push for reforms that truly protect consumers and artists.”
Long-standing complaints about Ticketmaster’s practices hit a peak in 2022 when its botched rollout of Taylor Swift tickets led to a hearing before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on the company’s role in the ticketing industry and the U.S. Justice Department launched an investigation.
The suit calls for restoring competition in the entertainment industry by banning Live Nation from engaging in anticompetitive practices and selling Ticketmaster.
“Restoring competition protects the ability of working artists and fans to meaningfully access, afford and engage with music and each other,” the suit said. “Addressing and stopping anticompetitive conduct is also essential to ensure the vibrancy of live music.”
Oregon’s attorney general, Ellen Rosenblum, said the suit is a “big deal” for Oregonians.
“We’re joining this lawsuit because Live Nation stifles innovation, limits consumer choices, inflates prices and piles on excessive fees – and we want those practices to end.”
The other attorneys general joining the suit are from: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
AnneMarie Timmins of the New Hampshire Bulletin contributed to this story.
New Hampshire Bulletin is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. New Hampshire Bulletin maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Dana Wormald for questions: [email protected]. Follow New Hampshire Bulletin on Facebook and Twitter.
Oregon Ducks (4-0) at Oregon State Beavers (4-0)
Corvallis, Oregon; Thursday, 10 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Oregon State hosts Oregon after Nate Kingz scored 22 points in Oregon State’s 70-51 victory over the CSU Fullerton Titans.
Oregon State went 13-19 overall a season ago while going 12-6 at home. The Beavers averaged 68.9 points per game while shooting 44.2% from the field and 32.8% from deep last season.
Oregon went 6-5 on the road and 24-12 overall last season. The Ducks averaged 14.0 points off of turnovers, 11.0 second-chance points and 18.3 bench points last season.
——
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The text came from an employee on Monday morning, as ordinary as any, and it completely surprised Corrine Coxey, owner of Salud Raw Food restaurant in Bend.
“Woody Harrelson is here, and he’s raving about your food,” the text read.
Harrelson, a “Cheers” actor and devoted vegan who ordered “rawkin’ tacos” and other items with his wife, Laura Louie, returned to the restaurant Tuesday and promised to come again. He said they were visiting family in the area. Headlines followed.
“I’m just very honored they came in and raved about it,” Coxey said. “Woody has been a vegan for 30 years and you know he’s eaten at the best places around the world so it was a real compliment.”
Coxey opened her raw food restaurant, which uses no stoves or ovens to prepare healthy, organic, plant-based dishes, in 2013. This year has been the slowest ever, she said, to the point she has often wondered whether she’d have to close. The TV and movie star’s arrival has been a “blessing” for business, she said.
“All of this publicity couldn’t have come at a better time as it’s been pretty bleak lately,” she said by text. “The local news here did a story on the 6 o’clock news tonight. We were twice as busy as we would have been today!”
She hopes he returns, too, not just for the sake of her bottom line: “He and his wife were very sweet and humble.”
— Beth Slovic is an editor on the public safety and breaking news team. Reach her at 503-221-8551 or bslovic@oregonian.com.
Our journalism needs your support. Subscribe today to OregonLive.com/subscribe.
Oregon
Big Ten reverses course: Oregon football has clinched a spot in Big Ten championship game after all
EUGENE — It was the clinch that appeared to be, then wasn’t, then was again.
In a reversal, the Big Ten Conference announced Tuesday that Oregon football (11-0, 8-0 Big Ten) has in fact earned a spot in the conference’s championship game. According to multiple sources with knowledge of the discussion, Big Ten athletic directors met virtually Tuesday to discuss the conference’s tiebreakers, and whether Oregon had clinched.
While the conference previously claimed the Ducks needed Ohio State and Penn State to lose this coming weekend in order to secure their spot this week, it may have misinterpreted its own tiebreaking procedures. Oregon appears to have clinched a spot with Saturday’s win at Wisconsin.
“Following a comprehensive evaluation of all possible scenarios over the final two weeks of regular-season play across the conference’s 18 teams, there are no conditions whereby the Ducks do not finish No. 1 or No. 2,” the Big Ten said in a release.
The conference did not immediately respond to a request for further comment from The Oregonian/OregonLive.
Prior to Saturday’s game against the Badgers, the conference told The Oregonian/OregonLive and officials from the Oregon athletic department that even a victory would not secure the Ducks a spot in the Dec. 7 game in Indianapolis. That was the operating assumption as recently as Monday, when The Oregonian/OregonLive reported a follow-up story based on the conference’s interpretation of its tiebreaking procedures.
The Oregonian’s original interpretation of the tiebreaker rules was that Oregon needed only to beat Wisconsin to clinch. That appears to have been true.
While the Ducks’ trip to Indianapolis is finally locked in, their opponent remains a mystery. Indiana, Ohio State and Penn State all still have a path to meet the Ducks at Lucas Oil Stadium.
— Ryan Clarke covers the Oregon Ducks and Big Ten Conference. Listen to the Ducks Confidential podcast or subscribe to the Ducks Roundup newsletter.
Warming and dry trend kicks off across Colorado
Broad-daylight US tragedy: 4 month baby, mother killed in Connecticut drive-by shooting
Today in Delaware County history, Nov. 20
New North Idaho College trustees to be sworn in
Florida sheriff breaks up alleged massive gang check fraud conspiracy
Colorado Rockies game no. 116 thread: Zac Gallen vs José Ureña
See it: Tesla crashes into Columbus convention center at 70 mph
Fox News Politics: Georgia the whole day through
Why Marjorie Taylor Greene was ‘kicked out’ of the Freedom Caucus according to Rep. Buck
Death of missing Oregon girl found in stream ruled homicide
Louisiana lawmakers weighing constitutional amendment that would send more juvenile offenders to adult jails
Sharp rise recorded in landmine casualties in 2023, warns report
SS United States, record-setting ocean liner, makes its final voyage
President-elect Trump has considered buying Greenland: Here's every proposal in American history
G20 Summit: Brazil's president calls for more action on climate change
-
News1 week agoHerbert Smith Freehills to merge with US-based law firm Kramer Levin
-
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25724877/Super_Nintendo_World.png "The next Nintendo Direct is all about Super Nintendo World’s Donkey Kong Country")
Technology1 week agoThe next Nintendo Direct is all about Super Nintendo World’s Donkey Kong Country
-
Business7 days ago
Column: OpenAI just scored a huge victory in a copyright case … or did it?
-
Health7 days agoBird flu leaves teen in critical condition after country's first reported case
-
Business3 days agoColumn: Molly White's message for journalists going freelance — be ready for the pitfalls
-
World1 week agoSarah Palin, NY Times Have Explored Settlement, as Judge Sets Defamation Retrial
-
Politics2 days agoTrump taps FCC member Brendan Carr to lead agency: 'Warrior for Free Speech'
-
Sports1 week agoRoki Sasaki’s contract situation, signing process and suitors, explained
