Mylan manufactured demand by lobbying for laws requiring EpiPens in schools, running "disease awareness" ads to heighten fear, and creating a free school training program specifically for their device. This created economic "lock-in," making it difficult for cheaper alternatives to compete and securing a captive market.

US legacy carriers like Delta successfully neutralized low-cost threats (Spirit, Frontier) by introducing "Basic Economy" fares. Leveraging their scale and loyalty programs, they could price-discriminate, matching LCC prices on a fraction of their seats while maintaining premium pricing on the rest, effectively starving competitors of the price-sensitive traffic they relied on.

Established industries often operate like cartels with unwritten rules, such as avoiding aggressive marketing. New entrants gain a significant edge by deliberately violating these norms, forcing incumbents to react to a game they don't want to play. This creates differentiation beyond the core product or service.

Intense competition forces companies to innovate their products and marketing more aggressively. This rivalry validates the market's potential, accelerates its growth, and ultimately benefits the entire ecosystem and its customers, rather than being a purely zero-sum game.

The government's case against Live Nation/Ticketmaster isn't just about consumer frustration. It centers on the company allegedly using its dominance in promotions and venues to illegally force partners into using its ticketing service, thereby locking out competitors.

Despite the federal DOJ settling its case against Live Nation, dozens of state attorneys general are continuing the lawsuit. This demonstrates a trend of states stepping in to enforce antitrust laws, serving as a critical check when federal enforcement is perceived as weak or politically influenced.

The DOJ's settlement with Live Nation was widely seen as ineffective by industry experts. Concessions like access to an outdated 1980s-era backend system and divesting booking contracts instead of physical venues were considered minimal changes that wouldn't alter market dynamics.

Recent streaming price increases, which are vastly outpacing inflation, serve as the primary evidence that the market is already too consolidated. Further mergers would grant companies like Netflix unchecked pricing power, transferring wealth from consumers and labor directly to shareholders in an oligopolistic environment.

The settlement, while imposing penalties, leaves Live Nation's core business intact. This removes major regulatory overhang, much like Google's case, after which its stock surged 60%. This precedent suggests a similar upward trajectory for Live Nation as the "monopoly discount" risk is removed.