TKO Executive Ari Emanuel Told President Donald Trump Live Nation-Ticketmaster Antitrust Lawsuit Should Be Settled

Earlier this month, the US Department of Justice reached a tentative settlement with Live Nation in an antitrust lawsuit. The agreement would alter how Live Nation, which owns Ticketmaster, negotiates ticketing deals.

Though the DOJ has reached a tentative settlement, more than 30 states say the provisions are not enough and are rejecting the settlement. The case is continuing in court.

According to the Wall Street Journal, TKO executive Ari Emanuel reached out to President Donald Trump and told him the case should be settled. Trump reportedly began calling around, wondering why the case hadn’t been settled. On March 5, a settlement was signed.

Emanuel, and fellow TKO executive Mark Shapiro, were part of the Live Nation board before resigning in 2021, feeling that their roles with Endeavour created an illegal interlocking directorate.

The trial is currently ongoing, and the judge presiding over the case criticized how the settlement came together, saying it was “entirely unacceptable” that he was left out of the loop until shortly before the agreement was announced.

Terms of the settlement lets venues use multiple ticket vendors, rather than letting Ticketmaster set exclusive contracts and agreed to cap service fees at 15%