On July 6, Juice Entertainment submitted a formal letter to the United States Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission alleging Live Nation, Inc. has engaged in fraud, monopolistic behavior, deceptive business practices and corporate espionage. The letter was submitted in response to the DOJ and FTC’s public inquiry into unfair and anticompetitive practices in live ticketing as directed under President Trump’s Executive Order 14254.

Juice Entertainment has been engaged in a lawsuit with Live Nation for fifteen years, centered around the allegations presented. The lawsuit, Juice Entertainment v. Live Nation, is the longest continuing commercial litigation against Live Nation in the nation. Currently before the U.S. Federal Court for the District of New Jersey, the Plaintiffs have been awaiting trial for over five years, despite prevailing in summary judgment more than seven years ago.

Thomas Dorfman, CEO of Juice Entertainment, says: “This case is not just about one company, it’s about the integrity of the live entertainment industry in America. It’s time for transparency, accountability and fair competition in the industry.”

Juice Entertainment’s letter accuses Live Nation of operating a concealed, non-traditional profit model that derives revenue from secretly and arbitrarily negotiated rebates with vendors. This is done without the knowledge or consent of its fiduciaries, including co-promoters, artists, agents, managers, regulators and fans. Through this questionable business model, Live Nation’s production/promotional profitability alone averages between 20-45% of the total ticket sales per event/production, and not the 1-2% Live Nation discloses to the public and fiduciaries. This rate of profitability can be (and often are) maintained by Live Nation to its own exclusive benefit, even if ticket sales do not cover the cost of production.

These practices have caused a rise in production costs, directly resulting in increased ticket prices for consumers. Live Nation’s narrative that market forces and scalpers are to blame is a deliberate misrepresentation to deflect investigation into its business practices.

Furthermore, Juice Entertainment claims Live Nation utilizes misleading contracts, false projections, and maintains at least two sets of financial results per production—one almost always profitable (private) and one less/not profitable (public).

The letter incriminates Live Nation’s CEO, Mr. Michael Rapino, who is directly involved in the execution and maintenance of this model, as well as Ticketmaster. According to Juice Entertainment, this business model cannot function without Ticketmaster’s control of ticketing data/revenue, allowing Live Nation to leverage its monopoly power in rebate negotiations and dominate the live entertainment industry.

Live Nation is also accused of intimidation, corruption and espionage targeting competitors, vendors and litigants to maintain its dominance

These allegations are supported by over 500 pieces of evidence, including accounting records, internal emails, audio recordings, depositions and more. The claims are further validated by Dr. Richard Barnet, the nation’s top academic expert in the Live Entertainment industry. His expert report, which was originally suppressed by a former Live Nation attorney, was recovered in 2024 by the late Congressman Bill Pascrell from buried federal court files.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250710856339/en/

“This case is not just about one company, it’s about the integrity of the live entertainment industry in America. It’s time for transparency, accountability and fair competition in the industry.” Thomas Dorfman, CEO of Juice Entertainment