The antitrust trial against Live Nation Entertainment and Ticketmaster is set to restart Monday in federal court in New York after negotiations this week failed to convince most states to join a settlement that the U.S. Department of Justice reached with the company, according to lawyers speaking Friday. The federal judge, Arun Subramanian, heard arguments during a hearing in New York and ruled that the case would move forward as planned.
At the same time, the judge also decided to keep certain trial exhibits in the case after Live Nation objected to their inclusion. Those exhibits include internal messages in which a company employee described VIP access at a Tampa, Florida, amphitheater and criticized the fees paid by customers, including language that included “BAHAHAHAHAHA.”
The split among states centers on how far the settlement goes. More than 30 states plan to continue trying to persuade a jury that Live Nation and its ticketing subsidiary squelch competition and drive up prices for fans, the lawyers said in court. The states’ lawyers argued that the conduct included threats, retaliation and other tactics that, they say, allowed the companies to control key aspects of the industry, including concert promotion and ticketing.
Seven states told the judge they were joining the Justice Department settlement: Arkansas, Iowa, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina and South Dakota. They were described in court as states with Republican attorneys general. Lawyers for the remaining states and the District of Columbia told the judge they would not sign onto the deal as negotiations concluded without broad agreement.
A jury had already begun hearing testimony before the Justice Department moved the case forward with a proposed agreement. The Justice Department said it had reached a deal intended to save the public money by letting competitors of Live Nation in some ticket markets where they are currently excluded. Lawyers for many of the states criticized that approach, saying the federal government did not obtain enough concessions from the company.
Testimony had been paused for a week to allow for additional settlement talks, but Judge Subramanian said Friday that the trial would resume. At a hearing earlier in the week, Live Nation’s attorney, Dan Wall, told the judge that the chance all states would settle their claims was “about zero,” according to the court hearing report.
Live Nation has said it does not monopolize its industry and that artists, sports teams and venues determine prices and how tickets are sold. In court on Friday, the company also challenged whether the internal messaging exhibits should be allowed, arguing that the communications were not directly about ticketing.
Judge Subramanian rejected that objection, ruling that the overall fan experience can be relevant to the relationship between performers and their customers. The judge said that some artists might choose not to perform if fans were being charged too much for amenities such as lawn chairs or other add-ons. The judge compared the issue to film industry harm, describing it as similar to a scenario in which movie theaters charge high prices for concessions like soda, candy and popcorn.
The judge’s decision also came as Live Nation said it had learned about the private conversation described in the exhibits at a hearing on Thursday. In a statement issued that day, the company said the conversation “absolutely does not reflect our values or how we operate,” and said it would look into it promptly.
In the days leading up to Friday’s ruling, Live Nation’s counsel argued that the messages were “passing references to non-ticket ancillary products—such as VIP club access, premier parking, or lawn chair rentals—sold to concertgoers at two amphitheaters” in Florida and Virginia. The judge said the relevance extends beyond those specific items to how pricing and fan experiences relate to the dispute.