Artists will be able to use third-party promoters at LN-owned venues, if they want. And LN promises that it won't retaliate against venues or artists that don't use Live Nation's services (for the third time. this was a condition in 2010 and 2019)
For venues LN owns, they must allow promoters to send at least 50% of tickets to another ticketing service if they want. For all other venues (ie non-LN owned ones) they must offer a non-exclusive contract where at least 20% of tickets can be routed to another ticketing service.
Why title it "divestiture?" -- so the Justice Department can claim they got a divestiture / structural relief and this isn't all behavioral remedies (even if it's just cancelling a contract)
Except Live Nation says it doesn't own any of the venues in the list. It serves as the "exclusive promoter" for them. So really it requires LN to terminate the exclusive contract and enter into a new non-exclusive one.
Pretty obvious now why there's a he said/he said dispute over what #3 means. It reads "divestiture of venues" and says that "Live Nation will divest ownership and/or control of the concert venues in Appendix A" -- which makes it sound like a sale.
Here it is, the famed "term sheet": www.courtlistener.com/docket/68557...
March 9 - 6:45 am - DOJ provides a copy of the term sheet to the judge via email.
March 8 (Sunday) - a little before 8 pm, LN and the DOJ inform Judge Subramanian they have reached an agreement and will move to pause the trial while they finalize a proposed judgment. That email doesn't include the term sheet and the judge asks for a copy.
March 6 - before trial start, DOJ and states meet in chambers with Judge Subramanian and notify him of a potential settlement. Neither DOJ nor Live Nation mention the signed term sheet, according to LN's top lawyer, because they weren't aware it had been signed.
March 5 - 4:07 pm - states receive a proposed term sheet from DOJ with a request to let them know if they will agree by 5 pm the following day.
At some point that day, Assefi and Rapino meet in person for negotiations and sign a term sheet.
March 3 - opening statements in the case. Later that day, at a meeting between LN's law firm and a delegation of states, they receive hard copies of a proposed term sheet.
March 2 - jury selection in trial. states meet with DOJ including Omeed Assefi, Slater's replacement and Acting AAG. According to the states, the DOJ didn't disclose that they were close to a settlement with Live Nation, asked to speak again on March 4
Fact not cited in chronology:
Feb 12 - DOJ's assistant attorney general for antitrust fired www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Chronology:
October - Live Nation sends DOJ a proposed settlement
January 29 - DOJ responds to Live Nation with counter-proposal
Jan 30 - Live Nation call with states, but company declines to provide details on offer
Feb. 1 - DOJ call with states, Justice Department declines to provide details
The Justice Department provided them a term sheet at 4 pm on Thursday, March 5 and asked for an answer by 5 pm the following day.
States lay out their view of the facts here: www.courtlistener.com/docket/68557...
The remaining 27 states plus DC intend to continue with the trial.
Four additional states hadn't made a decision as of this morning: Florida, Indiana, Louisiana and Texas.
More: eight states indicated they are inclined to agree to the Justice Department's settlement: Arkansas, Iowa, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota and West Virginia.
The trial will resume next Monday with the states (which ones! We still don't know). Tomorrow, Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino and Acting AAG for Antitrust Omeed Assefi must appear before the judge for a tongue lashing.
The states asked the court for a mistrial or a 60-day pause. Judge isn't inclined to grant either.
Later that evening, March 2, DOJ informed the states they were close to settlement. The states then began to make preparations to take over the case, Elinor Hoffman, a lawyer from NY said. That includes hiring outside counsel to help litigate the trial.
The states had a call with Assefi on March 2 in the morning, the same day that the jury was selected in the trial. Assefi told them that they were talking with Live Nation but expected to litigate the case.
The states say they first heard about the possibility of a settlement on Jan. 29. At the time, the Justice Department said they were engaged in negotiations but still expected to go to trial.
The judge said he was informed about the settlement at 8 pm last night, but didn't get the terms until 6:30 am this morning when he asked for them. The DOJ's lead trial lawyer said that was when he also received them.
So when those folks met with Judge Arun Subramanian on Friday morning they were giving him dated information that DOJ was close to a settlement.
They didn't tell: 1) the Justice Department lawyers litigating the case; 2) a different group of lawyers that met with the judge Friday morning to inform him of the possibility of a settlement; 3) the states, their co-plaintiffs; or 4) Live Nation's top lawyer.
What we know: On Thursday, Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino and Omeed Assefi, the acting AG for antitrust, signed a "term sheet" after an in-person negotiation.
