Live Nation has acquired the remaining assets of Songkick and settled the long-running legal battle between the two companies.
Concert discovery and ticketing firm Songkick, which merged with CrowdSurge in 2015, sued Live Nation and its subsidiary Ticketmaster in 2015, alleging the firms “exploited their monopoly power” by engaging in anti-competitive behaviour. The promoting giant was accused of pressuring touring artists and concert venues to not work with Songkick's service.
The lawsuit then took a new twist after Songkick filed an amended complaint accusing a former CrowdSurge employee, who went on to work for Ticketmaster, of hacking trade secrets.
The case was scheduled to go to trial later this month. However, Live Nation and Complete Entertainment Resources Group, Inc (CERG), the entity formerly known as Songkick, have now announced that Live Nation has acquired certain assets from CERG, including CERG's ticketing platform, anti-scalping algorithm, API applications and patent portfolio. They also announced a settlement which, according to Billboard, has seen Live Nation pay the company’s owners $110 million (£80m).
"We are pleased that we were able to resolve this dispute and avoid protracted and costly legal proceedings, while also acquiring valuable assets," said Joe Berchtold, president of Live Nation.
"We are glad to have resolved this litigation and thank all the employees, artists and industry partners who contributed so much to our many successes over the last decade," said Matt Jones, CEO of CERG.”
Last summer it was announced that Warner Music Group had snapped up selected assets from Songkick, which shut down its ticketing operation in the autumn.
Earlier this week Live Nation announced that it had acquired a majority interest in previously independent US promoter Frank Productions,
