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It’s impossible to describe Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, which had its final show on Sunday, without mentioning its financial superlatives: the highest-grossing tour of all time; a force that boosted tourism around the world; A pivotal reminder for millions of fans, some of whom have flown around the world and spent thousands of dollars to attend.

But perhaps one of its more lasting effects is the absolute legal hell it unleashed on one of the world’s most despised companies, Ticketmaster, and its parent company Live Nation, which could be forced to dissolve if the Justice Department gets its way.

ICYMI: When Eras tickets went on sale in fall 2022, Swifties were more than ready. It had been six long years since Swift toured (for many young fans, that’s about a third or more of her life). They had survived a pandemic, a trauma that leaves a person isolated, always returning to that one part in “Exile” from the “Folklore” album, in which the voices of Taylor and Bon Iver sing over each other, building and building until you literally have to stop the car to cry in a McDonald’s parking lot on I-80. For example.

But Ticketmaster definitely wasn’t ready.

The website crashed in the first hour of ticket sales. Fans waited in queues all day only to find the page freezing or their account logged out. Scalpers and bots gobbled up tickets, which they then resold at exorbitant prices. The fans’ anger reverberated across the internet and in the halls of Congress. The Senate singled out Live Nation’s president and CFO for public abuse. At one point, Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut congratulated the executive branch on the “stunning achievement” of bringing Republicans and Democrats together in “an absolutely unified cause.”

In May, the Justice Department sued Live Nation, demanding that the company be dissolved. The lawsuit alleges the company abused its power as the country’s largest concert promoter to stifle competition, force fans to pay more and pressure artists and venues to use its services. Live Nation has repeatedly called the allegations “baseless.”

“It is also absurd to suggest that Live Nation and Ticketmaster have monopoly power,” the company’s website states. “The defining characteristic of a monopolist is monopoly Wins derived from monopoly Pricing. Live Nation doesn’t fit the profile in any way.”

Live Nation (LVY) stock is up nearly 50% this year thanks to continued high demand for concerts and festivals. But it’s not like musicians or their fans Love Ticketmaster’s product – they simply have no other choice. This means that investors feel like they are betting on something safe.

As my friend Paul R. La Monica wrote in Barron’s last month when the company reported better-than-expected earnings, “Investors love Live Nation about as much as fans of Taylor Swift and Oasis loathe it.”

It can hardly be overstated how much of the live music experience is directly or indirectly controlled by Live Nation. According to the DOJ lawsuit, Live Nation controls 80% of venues’ primary ticket sales for concerts and directly owns 265 venues (including 60 of the top 100 amphitheaters).

Once you’re inside, Live Nation isn’t done accepting your money, as Sherwood Media’s Amrita Khalid reported last week.

“At the Walnut Creek Amphitheater in Raleigh, North Carolina, you can buy a giant margarita for more than $30 at a stand called Bamboo Piranha, which looks like a local business but is actually a Live Nation brand,” he said Khalid wrote. “The entertainment giant is investing in multiple food and beverage brands sold at its venues, including plant-based burger company CVT Soft Serve, Everything Legendary, and Owen’s Craft Mixers.”

Of course, it’s not clear what will happen next with the DOJ’s lawsuit.

Some analysts expect the Joe Biden era of strict antitrust enforcement to weaken, which would partly explain why Live Nation’s stock is up 14% since Election Day.

Live Nation is certainly hoping for that too.

“We are confident that we will see a return to the more traditional antitrust approach, where authorities have generally sought to find ways to address problems they see with targeted remedies that minimize government intervention in the market.” said Joe, president and CFO of Live Nation. Berchtold said on an earnings call last month. “We will of course be ready to engage as soon as they are.”

But dropping the lawsuit would also deprive new President Donald Trump of an easy PR victory. Over the summer, about 40 attorneys general — Republicans and Democrats — joined the DOJ’s case, an indication that the administration enjoys bipartisan support. And the self-proclaimed populist wing of the Republican Party, which includes Vice President-elect JD Vance, has pretty clearly broken with the traditional right-wing respect for big business. (They even called themselves “Khan servants,” a reference to Biden’s top antitrust watchdog Lina Khan.)

Adam Wolfson, an antitrust attorney at the law firm Quinn Emanuel, said that while it’s possible that the Trump DOJ could drop the case, “that’s pretty unlikely.”

Last week, Trump tapped Gail Slater, an economic adviser to Vance, to lead the DOJ’s antitrust division.

“She is pretty well known for being an aggressive enforcer, so the general perception that the Trump administration will be less aggressive is not necessarily true,” said Wolfson, who is separately leading a class action lawsuit against Live Nation.

“The frustration with Live Nation-Ticketmaster is very bipartisan,” he added.