Jury Finds Live Nation and Ticketmaster Illegally Monopolized Venues

A federal jury in Manhattan ruled on Wednesday that Live Nation Entertainment and its Ticketmaster unit operated as an illegal monopoly over major concert venues, CBS News, NPR and the Associated Press reported. The jury deliberated for four days, according to NPR and the AP.

The verdict is a win for 33 states and the District of Columbia, which accused the company of stifling competition, limiting consumer choice and driving up ticket prices. The case began as a Justice Department lawsuit filed in 2024 under the Biden administration. A week into the trial this spring, the Trump administration settled its claims for $280 million, NPR and CBS News reported. The deal capped service fees at some amphitheaters and gave venues and promoters more options for selling tickets, but it did not force Live Nation to split from Ticketmaster, the AP said. A handful of states joined the settlement; more than 30 pressed ahead with the trial, according to the AP.

The jury found that Ticketmaster overcharged customers in 22 states by an average of $1.72 per ticket, according to CBS News and the AP. That could cost the companies hundreds of millions of dollars in damages, the AP reported, and sanctions could also include orders to divest some assets, including amphitheaters. Roger Alford, a Notre Dame law professor, told CBS News that previous behavioral promises were broken and that this “increases the chances of a breakup.”

Live Nation, which Ticketmaster merged with in 2010, says it is not a monopoly and that artists, sports teams and venues set ticket prices. “Success is not against the antitrust laws in the United States,” company attorney David Marriott told jurors, according to the AP. After the verdict the company said in a statement that “the jury’s verdict is not the last word on this matter,” citing pending motions that will determine whether the liability and damages rulings stand, and said it “can and will appeal any unfavorable rulings” on those motions. Live Nation also argued that the $1.72 figure applies only to tickets sold at 257 venues, about 20 percent of its total, so it believes the total single damages would be under $150 million before trebling, CBS News reported. It said it has already accrued $280 million toward state claims in connection with the federal settlement.

Jeffrey Kessler, a lawyer for the states, called Live Nation a “monopolistic bully” in closing arguments and said the company controls 86 percent of the concert market, the AP reported. New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement quoted by NPR that Live Nation and Ticketmaster were “breaking the law and costing consumers millions of dollars.” California Attorney General Rob Bonta, whose office was part of the case, said the verdict shows how far states can go “in the face of dwindling antitrust enforcement by the Trump Administration,” CBS News reported.

What happens next is still open. The judge told both sides to confer with the Justice Department and submit a joint letter proposing a schedule for motions and the remedies phase by late next week, according to the AP. Alford told CBS News that a judge could also reject the federal settlement in light of the verdict. Ticketmaster has drawn complaints from artists since Pearl Jam filed an antimonopoly complaint in the 1990s, and from fans after the 2022 sale of Taylor Swift tour tickets, CBS News noted.