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THE BIG STORY: Two years after the Department of Justice filed a sweeping antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation seeking to split the company from Ticketmaster, a federal judge ruled that the case could move ahead to a blockbuster trial.
The feds claim Live Nation runs an illegal “flywheel” — reaping revenue from ticket buyers, using that money to sign artists, then leveraging that repertoire to lock venues into exclusive ticketing contracts that yield ever more revenue.
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After more than a year of discovery, Live Nation urged the judge to end that case, arguing that little hard evidence had been uncovered. But in his ruling last week, Judge Arun Subramanian (yes, that Arun Subramanian) said the government could proceed to trial on several key accusations, including that Live Nation abused its vast portfolio of amphitheaters to force artists to use its promotion services.
“A reasonable jury could certainly find that artists were coerced into going with Live Nation as their promoter to get into its amphitheaters,” the judge wrote.
For more, go read our full story here, with the judge’s actual written ruling; Live Nation’s unusual response urging the feds to settle; and its push for a trial postponement amid a fast-track appeal. And stay with Billboard for the trial – set to start next Monday.
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Other top stories this week…
-Two producers who dropped their lawsuit against Karol G over a song from her chart-topping album Mañana Será Bonito – and, in a rare move, apologized for filing it in the first place.
-The record labels are cracking down on corporate social media accounts that use popular songs. Here’s why it’s happening, and what experts say might come next.
-Skaters at the 2026 Winter Olympics got a hard lesson in the complex world of music licensing as they tried to use popular songs in their routines: “It’s a clearance nightmare.”
-Prosecutors filed their main brief in Sean “Diddy“ Combs’ criminal appeal, arguing there’s no basis to disturb the mogul’s prostitution conviction and four-year prison sentence.
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-Miley Cyrus asked a judge to dismiss the long-running lawsuit claiming her chart-topping “Flowers” ripped off Bruno Mars’ “When I Was Your Man,” arguing the two songs are “very different.”
-As Lil Durk’s murder-for-hire trial nears, a judge ruled that prosecutors can introduce some of his lyrics as evidence, ruling they are directly relevant to the accusations in the case.
-OutKast reached a settlement to end a lawsuit against an electronic dance music duo calling itself ATLiens – the same name as one of the hip hop duo’s best-known songs.
-Regional Mexican music legend Ramón Ayala is facing a $25 million lawsuit from a tour photographer alleging Ayala’s son engaged in abusive behavior toward the staffer.
-R&B singer Kenny Lattimore filed a lawsuit against distributor SRG/ILS Group, claiming he’s received only a single royalty check since the release of his last album in 2021.
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-In unrelated Live Nation news, a judge refused to dismiss a civil suit over the deadly 2023 shooting at the Beyond Wonderland festival at Washington’s Gorge Amphitheatre.
-Donny Osmond is facing a lawsuit from a concertgoer who says she suffered a “traumatic retinal injury” after being hit with a giant inflatable lit-up ball at his Las Vegas residency.
-The estate of Isaac Hayes reached a settlement with President Donald Trump to end copyright litigation over the use of the 1966 song “Hold On, I’m Comin’” at election rallies.
