New York Attorney General Letitia James describes the federal jury verdict against Live Nation and Ticketmaster as “a landmark victory in our ongoing work to protect our economy and New Yorkers’ wallets from harmful monopolies.” A federal jury in New York City found that event and concert promoter and presenter Live Nation and its ticket-selling subsidiary Ticketmaster violated federal and state antitrust laws by eliminating competition and driving up costs for fans, artists, and venues across the country. Live Nation is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California.
“For far too long, Live Nation and Ticketmaster have taken advantage of fans and artists by raising prices for tickets and stifling any competition that threatened their power,” James said. “A jury found what we have long known to be true: Live Nation and Ticketmaster are breaking the law and costing consumers millions of dollars in the process. I am proud to have led a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general in bringing this case and look forward to continuing our work to hold Live Nation and Ticketmaster accountable.”
In May of 2024, James, 40 other states and the federal Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a federal case against Live Nation and Ticketmaster. After the second Trump administration came to power, the DOJ settled with Live Nation and Ticketmaster. James and 33 other attorneys general objected to the settlement and elected to continue pursuing the lawsuit in federal court.
After a five-week trial, the jury found that James and the bipartisan coalition of 33 other attorneys general successfully proved that Live Nation and Ticketmaster have unlawfully maintained and abused their monopoly power preventing other ticketing services, venue owners, and concert promoters from successfully competing. As a result, consumers have been charged higher prices for tickets.
The jury found that Ticketmaster unlawfully maintains a monopoly in the market for ticketing services at major concert venues. The jury also found that Live Nation has a monopoly in the market for large amphitheaters used by artists and that Live Nation unlawfully requires artists who use the amphitheaters it owns to also use its event promotion services.
Federal Judge Arun Subramanian will now hold second trial to decide what remedies are warranted, including whether to grant the states’ request to break up the company or make other changes that would end the monopoly situation that the jury found exists.
Live Nation in a statement said, in part, “The jury’s verdict is not the last word on this matter. Injunctive relief will be determined by the court after the states make a remedy proposal, which we expect in the coming weeks. In the meantime … proceedings regarding the DOJ settlement will continue. We remain confident that the ultimate outcome of the states’ case will not be materially different than what is envisioned by the DOJ settlement.”
