One of Live Nation’s key arguments is that the DoJ excluded major venues—such as stadiums—from its market analysis. According to the filing, the DoJ’s own expert calculated that Live Nation’s ticketing market share would drop from 86% to 49% if stadiums were included. Live Nation says this lower number is not enough to prove monopoly power under U.S. law.

The company also notes that Ticketmaster’s share of the primary ticketing market has fallen by more than 30 percentage points since Live Nation and Ticketmaster merged in 2010, which it says shows the company is not dominating the market.

Live Nation denies that it pressured venues into signing exclusive ticketing deals and says venue representatives themselves testified that they prefer these long-term contracts. The company also argues that the government’s claim—that Live Nation used its concerts as leverage to force venues to choose Ticketmaster—is based on hearsay from rival ticketing companies, not from the venues involved.

The DoJ originally sued Live Nation and Ticketmaster in May 2024, accusing them of using their size and influence to limit competition in concerts, ticketing, and venues. A judge previously refused to dismiss key parts of the case, including claims that Live Nation tied access to its venues to the use of its concert promotion services.

On top of this case, Live Nation is also facing a separate lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission, filed in September, alleging violations related to ticket-buying limits and reselling practices.

The judge will now decide whether to grant Live Nation’s request to end the case without a trial.