Jury finds Live Nation and Ticketmaster held illegal concert venue monopoly

A New York jury found Wednesday that entertainment giant Live Nation and its Ticketmaster subsidiary maintained a harmful monopoly over major concert venues, delivering a significant legal defeat to the company that dominates live entertainment ticketing in the United States. The jury, which deliberated for four days, found that Ticketmaster’s anticompetitive practices caused concertgoers in 22 states to pay an extra $1.72 per ticket.

The ruling does not immediately lower ticket prices, but it sets up a remedy phase before the judge in which more than 30 states will seek financial penalties and potentially orders requiring Live Nation to sell some of the concert venues it owns.

A New York jury found Wednesday that Live Nation and its Ticketmaster subsidiary maintained a harmful monopoly over major concert venues, delivering a legal defeat to the company that controls the dominant share of live entertainment ticketing in the United States. The verdict came in a lawsuit brought by dozens of states and the District of Columbia after four days of jury deliberation.

The ruling does not immediately lower ticket prices for concertgoers, but it sets up a remedy phase before the judge in which the states will seek financial penalties and potentially court orders requiring Live Nation to sell some of the concert venues it owns.

What the jury found

The jury found that Ticketmaster’s anticompetitive practices caused people in 22 states to pay an extra $1.72 per ticket. Under federal antitrust law, damages are trebled. Live Nation estimated the underlying single-damages figure would be below $150 million, though the company acknowledged that trebling would apply and that sanctions could result in orders to divest some venues.

The civil case accused Live Nation of using its reach to smother competition — by blocking venues from working with multiple ticket sellers, for example. According to Jeffrey Kessler, the lead attorney for the states, Ticketmaster controls 86% of the market for concerts and 73% of the overall market when sports events are included.

Damning internal messages

Among the evidence jurors reviewed were internal messages from Live Nation employee Benjamin Baker, who wrote to a colleague that some ticket prices were “outrageous,” called customers “so stupid,” and boasted that the company was “robbing them blind, baby.” Baker has since been promoted to a ticketing executive position. He testified that the messages were “very immature and unacceptable.”

Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino also testified during the trial, addressing, among other matters, the company’s handling of the 2022 Taylor Swift ticket sale, which Rapino attributed to a cyberattack.

A split federal and state response

The case was originally filed during the Biden administration by the U.S. Department of Justice, joined by dozens of states. Days into the trial, the Trump administration announced it was settling its claims, reaching a deal that included a cap on service fees at some amphitheaters and new ticket-selling options for promoters and venues — terms that would allow but not require venues to open their doors to Ticketmaster competitors such as SeatGeek or AXS. A handful of states joined the settlement. More than 30 declined, contending the federal government had not obtained sufficient concessions, and proceeded to trial.

Company vows to appeal

Live Nation said in a statement that the verdict “is not the last word on this matter,” predicting the outcome would ultimately prove similar to the federal settlement once the remedy phase and all appeals are resolved. Defense attorney David Marriott had argued in summation that scale alone does not constitute an antitrust violation. “Success is not against the antitrust laws in the United States,” Marriott said.

State officials celebrate; penalties still ahead

New York Attorney General Letitia James called the verdict “a landmark victory.” New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said Live Nation’s “illegal, anti-competitive practices” had driven up ticket prices and made it harder for fans to attend shows. Kessler declined to specify what remedies the states would seek in the next phase of the litigation, which is expected to involve a separate proceeding before the judge before any penalties are set. “It’s a great day for consumers,” he said.

A long-contested dominant company

Ticketmaster was founded in 1976 and merged with Live Nation in 2010. The combined company owns, operates, controls booking for, or holds an equity interest in hundreds of venues and hosts tens of thousands of concerts a year.

Complaints about the company’s market position have persisted for decades. Grunge rock group Pearl Jam battled Ticketmaster in the 1990s, filing an anti-monopoly complaint with the Department of Justice, which declined to bring a case at that time.