Jury finds that Ticketmaster and Live Nation had an anticompetitive monopoly over big concert venues

Key Points:

• A Manhattan federal jury found Live Nation and its Ticketmaster subsidiary guilty of maintaining a harmful monopoly over major concert venues, resulting in a loss in a lawsuit brought by over 30 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.
• The jury determined Ticketmaster had overcharged consumers by $1.72 per ticket in 22 states, potentially costing the companies hundreds of millions of dollars and possibly leading to penalties and court-ordered divestitures of some venues.
• The lawsuit accused Live Nation of using its dominance to block competition, such as preventing venues from using multiple ticket sellers, while Live Nation defended its market position as a result of success and effort, denying monopoly claims.
• The trial featured testimony from Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino and revealed internal messages from a Ticketmaster employee disparaging customers and acknowledging high prices, which the employee later apologized for.
• Following the verdict, state attorneys general hailed the decision as a major victory for consumers, with further proceedings expected to determine penalties and remedies for Live Nation and Ticketmaster's anticompetitive conduct.