A federal jury in Manhattan has ruled that Live Nation Entertainment and its subsidiary Ticketmaster operated as a monopoly, marking a major development in the long-running antitrust battle surrounding the live entertainment industry.
The case stems from an investigation launched by the U.S. Department of Justice, which filed an antitrust lawsuit in 2024 alleging the companies engaged in anti-competitive practices. Among the claims were accusations that Live Nation used exclusivity agreements to shut out rival promoters and pressured venues into using Ticketmaster as their primary ticketing service.
Earlier this year, in March, the DOJ reached a settlement with the companies that included up to $280 million in damages, along with requirements to scale back exclusive venue agreements, cap service fees at 15%, and allow some venues to work with competing ticketing platforms.
Despite that settlement, a coalition of roughly 30 states—including California and New York—continued the civil case, ultimately leading to today’s verdict.
Rob Bonta praised the outcome, calling it a significant win for 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.”
Kid Rock was also involved earlier in the process, serving as a consultant during the investigation and publicly criticizing the initial settlement, arguing the case should have gone to a full jury decision.
At this stage, the full implications of the jury’s ruling remain unclear, with further legal and financial consequences for Live Nation and Ticketmaster still to be determined.
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Make Concerts Affordable Again 🇺🇸
We need someone to expose StubHub next! StubHub & it’s European market under the name of Viagogo are committing fraudulent practices across the nation and the globe. They are ripping people off big – both sellers & buyers. Selling non-existent and overly inflated parking in addition to non-existent tickets. If you run a check on it in searching you will come across so many stories. They don’t even stand behind their Fan Protection either. The staff are trained to lie. “Escalation Departments” are useless and trained to circle jerk the redirect in the favor of StubHub and their falsely given policies….we need an investigative reporter to blow this up as they need to be shut down!