Skip to main content

Live Nation Settlement Could Mean Free Tickets, Discounts

By Aditi Mukherji, JD on December 13, 2013 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

As part of preliminary settlement, concert promoter Live Nation may dish out free concert tickets and discounts to hundreds of thousands concertgoers who attended shows at a New Jersey amphitheater from 2003 to 2011.

Concert attendees have a class action lawsuit to thank for the potential freebies and sweet deals.

Class Action Lawsuit Against Live Nation

In class action lawsuits, people with the same (or similar) injuries or damages join together in a single legal action against one or more defendants.

In this case, two New Jersey men filed a class-action lawsuit against Live Nation in 2009, accusing the company of violating state consumer protection laws by padding ticket prices, reports The Star-Ledger.

The suit claimed it was illegal for Live Nation -- which manages the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel -- to include a mandatory $6 parking fee for each ticket at the venue regardless of whether the ticket holder intended to park at the center.

It also claimed that Live Nation's "No Service Fee Wednesday" promotion constituted a deceptive practice because the company hiked the base price of tickets that were sold during the service-fee promotional period.

Preliminary Settlement: Free Tix

The settlement was approved this week in federal court in Trenton. Under the terms, concertgoers privy to the settlement would each be entitled to three free lawn tickets to a concert in the next four years, as well as a coupon code for a $5 discount on tickets. Those eligible could pick one ticket to three different events if they wanted, reports the Star-Ledger.

Anyone who brought tickets online to PNC Bank Arts Center events through Live Nation and Ticketmaster between 2003 and 2011 would be eligible. According to the settlement, Live Nation estimated that the proposed settlement would affect about 363,000 people.

In consumer class actions like this, people who may be affected will usually receive a notice in the mail describing the suit, and are given an opportunity to join or instructions on how to "opt out." People who suffered special or greater harm may be inclined to opt out of the class action and pursue a separate lawsuit.

As expected, Live Nation will admit no wrongdoing in the settlement.

Related Resources:

Copied to clipboard