A federal jury in New York has ruled that both Live Nation Entertainment and its subsidiary Ticketmaster have been violating long-held antitrust laws by holding the live event industry in a monopolistic vice grip. As a result, Judge Arun Subramanian has to determine what the corporation will have to do to no longer run afoul of said laws.
Following today’s ruling, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said he was happy to hear the result, saying it was a major win for American consumers.
“In the face of dwindling antitrust enforcement by the Trump Administration, this verdict shows just how far states can go to protect our residents from big corporations that are using their power to illegally raise prices and rip-off Americans.
“We are incredibly proud of today’s outcome – and especially proud of our coalition made up of red and blue states alike who understood we needed to come together to protect our consumers, businesses, and state economies from Live Nation’s illegal conduct.”
This whole case began back in 2024 when more than three dozen states, the District of Columbia, and the Biden administration’s Justice Department sued Live Nation over their business practices. According to the lawsuit, the complaint stemmed from the allegation that the company threatened concert venues that they’d no longer approve concerts for their locations if they didn’t agree to work with Ticketmaster.
The states suing Live Nation and Ticketmaster provided their closing arguments on April 9, asking that those in the jury come to a conclusion that the company has made a habit of illegally destroying their competition in a bid to gain control of all aspects of live entertainment. The lawsuit alleged that ticket prices and fees charged by the company have only gone up in recent years as a direct result of Ticketmaster’s exclusivity agreements forcing competing promoters to get locked out of the market.
Lawyers for Live Nation, however, contended that the state’s complaint was misguided, that competition remained fierce, and that their success as a corporation was simply based on the fact that they offered a superior service.
Earlier this year, the DOJ announced that it had secured a settlement with Live Nation that included up to $280 million in damages, limits on service fees, and requirements to loosen exclusive venue arrangements. Despite that settlement, most of the states involved in the case — including California and New York — pushed on with their lawsuit. Arkansas, Iowa, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and South Dakota all opted to take the deal, so they’re not involved in this ruling.
Live Nation and Ticketmaster merged back in 2010 and became Live Nation Entertainment. Since then, the corporation has grown to monolithic heights, effectively taking hold of a majority of venues in the United States.
As a result of today’s ruling, Subramanian will have to decide what happens to Live Nation and Ticketmaster. Some potential actions could include forcing them to pay for monetary damages and forcing them to divest from certain aspects of the live entertainment industry. The big punishment, however, could be the forced breakup of Live Nation and Ticketmaster, reverting the companies back to the way they were before their 2010 merger.