Buying concert tickets can feel like a race you never win. Fees pile up, tickets vanish fast, and prices keep rising. Now, a major court decision could finally shake things up.
A jury determined Ticketmaster and Live Nation have been operating as an illegal monopoly in a move that could reshape the concert business.
On Wednesday, April 15, a federal jury in New York City decided that Live Nation Entertainment Inc. and its subsidiary — Ticketmaster LLC, which is widely considered the biggest platform in live event ticket sales — have been operating as an illegal monopoly over major concert venues, according to the Associated Press.
Following four days of deliberations in the closely watched trial, the jury in the civil case determined that the concert industry titan is in violation of federal and state antitrust laws, The New York Times reported.
According to The Times, Judge Arun Subramanian, who is overseeing the case, will determine remedies, including damages.
The AP reported that the Wednesday verdict may see Live Nation lose hundreds of millions of dollars from one decision alone, citing the jury's determination that Ticketmaster overcharged customers in 22 states $1.72 per ticket. (The Ticketmaster parent company sold 646 million tickets worldwide last year, The Times reported, citing case testimony.)
Penalties or divestments may also be on the horizon, as could a split of Live Nation and Ticketmaster, according to the outlets.
The latter would be a win for the federal government, which sought to break up the company when the Justice Department kicked off the case by filing an antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation nearly two years ago, in May 2024.
“We allege that Live Nation relies on unlawful, anticompetitive conduct to exercise its monopolistic control over the live events industry in the United States at the cost of fans, artists, smaller promoters, and venue operators,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland in a statement at the time, as reported by PEOPLE. “The result is that fans pay more in fees, artists have fewer opportunities to play concerts, smaller promoters get squeezed out, and venues have fewer real choices for ticketing services. It is time to break up Live Nation.”
Throughout the trial, Live Nation denied the government's claims that it threatens music venues to sign deals with Ticketmaster using its popular tours, according to The Times. Live Nation also repeatedly insisted that it competes aggressively in a busy market, but is not a monopoly, the outlet reported.