Live Nation CEO Michael Rapinoe spoke with President Donald Trump in the weeks before the company settled with the Justice Department in its antitrust lawsuit, Live Nation confirmed in court documents filed earlier this week.
In the document, which was filed in federal court on Monday, Live Nation disclosed numerous communications with representatives at the Justice Department and the White House, saying the company held talks between February 2025 and March 2026 to discuss a potential settlement of the antitrust lawsuit that was first filed in May 2024.
Among those conversations, in February 2026, Live Nation said Rapinoe “discussed a variety of topics related to Live Nation’s business with President Donald J. Trump,” adding that “the status of the Justice Department’s lawsuit against the defendants was raised but no substantive terms were discussed regarding any potential settlement.”
Live Nation disclosed the communications this week as part of actions under the Antitrust Sanctions and Procedures Act. The conversation between Trump and Rapinoe was one of several different communications Live Nation had with federal representatives over the course of about a year.
Live Nation did not respond to a request for further comment on this matter.
Live Nation listed nearly a dozen people as company representatives who were heavily involved in the talks. Along with Rapino and CFO Joe Berchtold, those listed as representing Live Nation included the likes of Trump global figures Kellyanne Conway, Mike Davis and Richard Grenell. Grenell, who was appointed to run the Kennedy Center from 2025 until earlier this year, was named to Live Nation’s board in a move that sparked controversy from Live Nation critics as a “veiled attempt to sidestep due process.”
In the document, Live Nation said Davis and fellow Live Nation legal representative William Levy sought to open settlement discussions in early 2025. By June of that year, Live Nation representatives met with the Justice Department at the Attorney General’s Office, which Live Nation said “led to the start of settlement discussions” with the Justice Department last September.
Live Nation said it discussed the settlement in February and March of this year, first with the Justice Department and later with the White House counsel’s office. Assistant Attorney General at the Department of Justice, Gail Slater, resigned from her position last February.
The case went to trial in March, but days after the trial, the Justice Department reached a settlement with Live Nation in a move that appeared to surprise the plaintiff states involved in the case as well as the judge overseeing the proceedings. Democratic lawmakers criticized the settlement, with Senator Amy Klobuchar saying: “It is clear that the American people got the raw end of the bargain.”
In a statement after the settlement, Rapinoe called the deal “a major step in improving the concert experience for artists and fans across the United States.”
More than 30 states decided to continue the trial on their own, hiring prominent antitrust lawyer Jeffrey Kessler as their counsel. The states won the trial and are pushing to break up Live Nation and Ticketmaster. Both the states and Live Nation are awaiting a decision from the court on what remedies are deemed necessary in the matter.
