Jury Finds Live Nation Operated as a Monopoly

A jury has found Live Nation liable in its antitrust trial.

As per the New York Times, the surprise verdict was handed down after the jury deliberated for four days before deciding that Live Nation operated as a monopoly that broke antitrust laws.

The 30+ states suing Live Nation and Ticketmaster were eventually able to convince the jury that Live Nation dominated with its positions in ticketing, concert promotions, and venues.

Amongst the accusations levelled at Live Nation were that it used threats and retaliation to pressure artists and venues into using its services.

At the time of writing, an exact punishment has yet to be confirmed for Live Nation. Judge Arun Subramanian will decide the extent of the punishment at a second hearing.

The consequences could range from severe monetary damages to breaking up Live Nation and Ticketmaster entirely.

It's expected that Live Nation will appeal the verdict, however, meaning the case could continue for many years.

Whatever happens, though, the verdict is a historic one.

“After decades of trying to address Live Nation and Ticketmaster’s abuse of monopoly power, we hope that those abuses will now end,” Roger Alford, a law professor at Notre Dame and a former deputy assistant attorney general in the Department of Justice’s antitrust division, told Rolling Stone.

The US Department of Justice, along with almost 40 US states in addition to Washington, D.C., sued Live Nation back in 2024.

Just one week into the trial, the company reached a settlement with the Department of Justice. Seven of the plaintiff states signed onto the Department of Justice's terms, but attorneys general for more states rejected the deal, criticising the terms for not going far enough, meaning the case continued.

Significant evidence in the trial has included messages between two ticketing directors in which they boasted about "robbing" fans blind and "taking advantage of them" with high ancillary fees for things like parking.

In a statement, however, Live Nation claimed the message exchange “absolutely doesn’t reflect our values or how we operate."

They further denied pressuring venues into signing deals with Ticketmaster and refuted the comments contained in the messages.