Clear Channel Gets Sued

Okay, so this story isn't about Ticketmaster, but rather one of the other ends of that mass media Lernaean Hydra: Clear Channel Communications.

Last Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Stephen V. Wilson certified the class action status of five lawsuits in the name of concert-goers in areas across the United States. The plaintiffs in these suits allege that Clear Channel participated in predatory pricing, constitutes a monopoly in violation of the Sherman Act, "used its market dominance in anticompetitive activities that unfairly increased ticket prices for consumers, and coerced artists to use Clear Channel for concert promotion".

For those of you legal dorks curious about who constitutes a member of the class, class certification now extends to Plaintiffs who bought concert tickets through Defendant Clear Channel to shows performed by co-Defendants Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton, Billy Joel, Elvis Costello and The Who in the Chicago, Denver, New England, New York/New Jersey, and Southern California regions between June 19, 1998 and today.