The Justice Department was preparing to wage a legal battle more than a decade in the making against the world’s largest concert promoter. Then President Trump called. Settle it, the president told a senior DOJ official, the official later told associates. The intervention was bizarre. The antitrust trial against Live Nation —which also owns Ticketmaster, a combination that draws relentless consumer criticism—was set to begin March 2, just days away. Trump had vowed to crack down on the industry just a year earlier when he signed an executive order targeting ticket-scalping and exploitative pricing in live entertainment. DOJ officials and…

Want to continue reading?

Celebrate with us – 7 years of The Currency

Unlock full access to The Currency and The Wall Street Journal with an annual membership and receive a FREE Samsonite Spectrolite Briefcase – worth €175 delivered to your door.

Subscribe

Cancel at any time.

Are you already a member? .