Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino spoke with President Donald Trump within the weeks before the corporate had settled with the Department of Justice in its monopoly lawsuit, Live Nation confirmed in court documents filed earlier this week.
Within the document, filed in federal court on Monday, Live Nation disclosed quite a few communications with representatives on the DOJ and the White House, saying that the corporate had been in conversations between February of 2025 and March of 2026 to debate a possible settlement over the antitrust suit first filed in May of 2024.
Amongst those conversations, in February of 2026, Live Nation said Rapino “discussed quite a lot of topics related to Live Nation’s business with President Donald J. Trump, adding that “the status of DOJ’s lawsuit against Defendants got here up but no substantive terms regarding any potential settlement were discussed.”
Live Nation disclosed the communications this week as a part of procedure within the Antitrust Procedures and Penalties Act. The conversation between Trump and Rapino was certainly one of several different communications Live Nation had with federal representatives over the course of a couple of 12 months.
Live Nation didn’t reply to request for further comment on the matter.
Live Nation listed nearly a dozen people as representatives of the corporate who’d substantively participated within the conversations. Together with Rapino and CFO Joe Berchtold, those listed as Live Nation representatives included the likes of outstanding Trumpworld figures Kellyanne Conway, Mike Davis and Richard Grenell. Grenell, who was tapped to run the Kennedy Center from 2025 until earlier this 12 months, was appointed to Live Nation’s board of directors in a move that courted controversy from Live Nation’s critics as a “thinly-veiled try to clash a legal proceeding.”
Within the document, Live Nation said Davis and fellow Live Nation legal rep William Levi sought to open settlement discussions in early 2025. By June of that 12 months, Live Nation reps had met with the DOJ on the Office of the Attorney General, which Live Nation said “led to the commencement of settlement discussions” with the DOJ last September.
Live Nation said it discussed a settlement in February and March of this 12 months, first with the DOJ after which subsequently with the office of white house counsel. DOJ assistant attorney general Gail Slater had stepped down from her post in February.
The case went to trial in March, but days into the trial, the DOJ had settled with Live Nation in a move that looked as if it would surprise the plaintiff states participating within the case in addition to the judge overseeing the proceedings. The settlement was criticized by democratic lawmakers, with senator Amy Klobuchar saying “it is evident the American people got the raw end of the deal.”
In a press release after the settlement, Rapino called the deal “a significant step in improving the concert experience for artists and fans throughout the US.”
Greater than 30 states decided to proceed with the trial on their very own, enlisting outstanding antitrust lawyer Jeffrey Kessler as their counsel. The states won the trial, and are pushing to interrupt up Live Nation and Ticketmaster. Each the states and Live Nation await a call from the court on what remedies are determined to be essential on the matter.