AEG and SeatGeek have filed public comments urging a US federal judge to reject the Department of Justice's proposed settlement with Live Nation, arguing it fails to fix the anti-competitive practices at the heart of the company's ticketing monopoly. The DOJ struck the deal with Live Nation a week into its antitrust trial this spring, allowing the firm to retain ownership of Ticketmaster subject to new restrictions, but state attorneys general pressed on with the case, resulting in a jury verdict that Live Nation had monopolised live music through promotion, venue ownership and ticketing. Judge Arun Subramanian must now decide whether to accept the settlement's business reforms or order a full breakup of Live Nation and Ticketmaster, a decision that will shape competition across the concert industry for years to come.

AEG, itself a rival promoter, venue owner and ticketing provider, argues that "divestiture is needed to restore competition" as long as Ticketmaster stays vertically integrated with Live Nation, while SeatGeek dismissed the settlement's protections for venues switching ticketing providers as "a feeble gesture masquerading as a serious solution." Both companies say Live Nation made similar promises to the DOJ in 2010 and 2020 without meaningfully changing its behaviour, and both object to a provision requiring Ticketmaster to share its back-end technology with rivals, warning it could entrench rather than erode the company's dominance. Veteran promoter Louis Messina also filed a critical response, arguing the deal would not curb the high Ticketmaster fees that fund Live Nation's market power. Live Nation denies the monopoly allegations and plans to appeal.