Well that’s going to shake things up.
A jury has found Live Nation and Ticketmaster liable for operating as an illegal monopoly following a lengthy trial that saw the Department of Justice striking a deal with the entertainment giant, while several states refused to settle.
The lawsuit was filed by the Biden administration back in 2024, and at the time Attorney General Merrick Garland laid out the case for breaking up Live Nation and Ticketmaster:
“We allege that Live Nation does not maintain its dominance in the entertainment industry by staying ahead of its competition on the merits. We allege that Live Nation controls the live entertainment industry in the United States because it is breaking the law…
We are here because that conduct, as we allege, is anti-competitive and illegal.
It is time for fans and artists to stop paying the price for Live Nation’s monopoly. It is time to break up Live Nation and Ticketmaster.”
Several states agreed with the DOJ and joined the lawsuit as plaintiffs. But on the eve of trial, the Justice Department reached a settlement with Live Nation that would allow them to avoid being forced to split with Ticketmaster, and instead put restrictions on exclusivity agreements that the company would frequently use with venues.
(The settlement also called for Live Nation to pay a $280 million).
But many of the states who had joined the lawsuit weren’t happy with the settlement agreement and refused to sign on, instead choosing to pursue their case at trial.
Well this afternoon, the jury returned their verdict following about 3 days of deliberations, and found that Live Nation and Ticketmaster did indeed maintain an illegal monopoly through their business practices.
Ticketmaster, which merged with Live Nation in 2010, controls the majority of tickets for live events. They do this through exclusivity contracts with venues that force them to use their platform to sell tickets, and in recent years have sought to grow their influence in the secondary (resale) ticket market by keeping tickets on their own resale platform to shut out competitors like StubHub and many others.
But Live Nation also maintains its dominance through ownership of many venues, including nearly 78% of the country’s large outdoor amphitheaters, as well as through exclusivity contracts with non-Live Nation owned venues. These long-term contracts lock venues into using Ticketmaster and effectively shut out any competition they may face. And because Live Nation ALSO owns artist management and promotion companies, they’re able to blacklist venues that don’t use Live Nation and shut them out of the marketplace.
(We’ve outlined before exactly how much control Live Nation has over pretty much every level of the live music industry, from venues and tickets to artist management and promotion, so if you want to read more about that you can find it here).
It’s a domination that has served Live Nation well: In 2025, the company reported revenue of $25.2 BILLION, a nearly 10% year-over-year growth from 2024, with $3.1 billion of that coming from Ticketmaster.
You can see why the government suspected they may be illegally operating as a monopoly. Call it an educated guess.
Following the verdict, the attorney representing the states, Jeffrey Kessler (who recently was in the news for representing 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports in their lawsuit against NASCAR) called it a “great day for consumers”:
“It’s a great day for antitrust law. It’s a great day for consumers. This case is a tribute to the 34 states and the District of Columbia who carried this case forward and it was my great honor to be working with them together on this.”
With the jury’s verdict, Judge Arun Subramanian will now decide the consequences for the companies, which could include monetary damages, injunctive relief forcing them to change their business practices, or even ordering a breakup of Live Nation and Ticketmaster (though I would say that’s unlikely).
The jury found that Ticketmaster overcharged customers by $1.72 per ticket, so I wouldn’t be expecting a massive windfall from the settlement, but if it improves the ticket buying experience and brings down prices for both fans and artists, it will still be a massive win.
