The Justice Department filed a federal lawsuit Thursday that accused Ticketmaster  and its parent company Live Nation of allegedly monopolizing the live entertainment industry to the detriment of fans and artists. On Thursday Justice Department officials said that they are trying change how the company does business, which could include breaking apart the two entities. This started in 2022, when Ticketmaster fumbled ticket sales for Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour which caused an uproar from fans over Live Nation’s impact on the entertainment and ticketing industries.

According to cbsnews.com, Attorney General Merrick Garland stated “We allege that Live Nation has illegally monopolized markets across the live concert industry in the United States for far too long. It is time to break it up. The American people are ready for it.”

In 2010, federal regulators, approved the combined merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster. However Thursday’s lawsuit, states that the merger has hurt consumers and artists. Senior Justice Department officials claimed that Live Nation and Ticketmaster worked to allegedly unlawfully squeeze consumers for money even after artists get paid, through what they characterized as alleged monopolistic intermediaries.

“We will defend against these baseless allegations, use this opportunity to shed light on the industry, and continue to push for reforms that truly protect consumers and artists,” Live Nation said when asked for their response to the filing.