On Wednesday, a federal jury in Manhattan found that Live Nation and its subsidiary, Ticketmaster, operated as a monopoly that harmed consumers and overcharged ticket buyers. The decision came after four days of deliberations.
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Related Story: NPR
The decision is a victory for 33 states and the District of Columbia, which accused Live Nation of unfairly controlling too many aspects of the live entertainment industry at the expense of venues, artists and fans after the company settled an earlier antitrust suit with the U.S. Department of Justice. The verdict has the potential to reshape the live music industry in the United States.
New York was among the states that participated in the lawsuit. Following the verdict, New York Attorney General Letitia James issued a statement.
"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," the statement reads. "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."
In a statement issued after the verdict on Wednesday, Live Nation pointed to several outstanding motions still left for a judge to decide, including the potential dismissal of expert testimony cited by the jury in its verdict.
"The jury's verdict is not the last word on this matter. Pending motions will determine whether the liability and damages rulings stand," the statement reads. "Of course, Live Nation can and will appeal any unfavorable rulings on these motions."
Live Nation has not responded to NPR's request for comment on the verdict. In past statements to NPR, the company has denied the claim that it operates a monopoly, stating that there's more competition in the marketplace than ever.
Live Nation owns, manages or works with hundreds of venues across the United States. In 2024, the Justice Department, under the Biden administration, filed a lawsuit accusing Live Nation of unfairly wielding its power over concert promotion, artist management, venue operations and ticketing services to shut out competition in the industry. The DOJ contended that Ticketmaster controlled around 80% of concert ticketing in the primary marketplace, plus a growing share of the resale market. The District of Columbia and 39 states joined the government's case.
Live Nation merged with Ticketmaster in 2010. Pearl Jam, Taylor Swift, The Cure and Olivia Dean are among the artists who have criticized how Ticketmaster has handled concert sales.
One week after the trial began in early March of this year, the Justice Department and several states reached a $280 million settlement with Live Nation. The company agreed to cap service fees at certain amphitheatres and allow some concert venues greater flexibility over the promoters and ticket distributors with whom they choose to do business.
Stephen Parker is head of the National Independent Venue Association, a member-based trade association advocating on behalf of live music venues. After news of the settlement, he told NPR that it was "not significant enough to call a slap on the wrist."
After the Justice Department settled its case, 33 states and the District of Columbia decided to move forward with the trial. Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino, who spent hours on the witness stand, denied accusations that his company engages in anticompetitive practices. In an email, University of Notre Dame law professor Roger Alford commended the states for seeing the antitrust trial through.
"This was a massive win for the state AGs and an historic miss for the DOJ," Alford wrote. "The DOJ had the talent, the material, and the audience. It just lacked leadership with the courage to step on stage."
After the jury reached a decision, U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian ordered both parties to meet with each other and "the United States" to propose a schedule for the next steps, according to the Associated Press.
Transcript
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
A federal jury decided Wednesday that Live Nation has operated as a monopoly and overcharged ticket buyers. Live Nation owns Ticketmaster, as well as many live music venues around the country. NPR Music Isabella Gomez Sarmiento is here to break down the case. So what'd the jury find?
ISABELLA GOMEZ SARMIENTO, BYLINE: So the jury found that Live Nation engaged in anti-competitive practices that harm the live music industry. When we're talking about the live music industry, we're talking about artists going on tour. We're talking about small venues and stadiums. We're talking about fans buying tickets to local shows or spending hundreds of dollars to see an A-lister like Taylor Swift. What Live Nation was accused of was having too much control over too many aspects of the industry. They own venues. They promote concerts. They manage artists. They book tours. And of course, they own one of the largest ticketing companies in the world.
So here's an example. The jury found that as a result of this anti-competitive behavior, in some states, ticket buyers were overcharged by about $1.72 per ticket. Now, throughout the trial, Live Nation has denied claims that it's monopolizing the industry and said there's more competition than ever. After the verdict, Live Nation put out a statement that said this was, quote, not the last word on this matter." The company pointed out there are still several pending motions that the court has to rule on, and they say they plan to appeal any unfavorable rulings.
MARTÍNEZ: OK, so still some moving parts to settle. Still, though, a pretty big deal for something that's been building for a while.
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: Yeah. I mean, there have been artists complaining about the control that Live Nation exerts for years. In some ways, this goes all the way back to Pearl Jam testifying against Ticketmaster in the 1990s. You know, for a long time, touring has been one of the primary ways for musicians to make money. And that industry has been squeezed in recent years, especially after the pandemic. But artists have had issues with how Ticketmaster and Live Nation handle ticket sales, and it was actually a pretty big name that brought this to the tipping point.
MARTÍNEZ: Ooh, I know who it is - Miss Americana. T-Swizzle. Taytay.
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: Correct. Taylor Swift. You might remember there was an outcry when her fans - Swifties - were trying to buy tickets to the Eras Tour. And so many people were frustrated by that experience, it sparked an investigation by the Biden-era Department of Justice, which led to this federal antitrust lawsuit. So 39 states and the District of Columbia were part of the government's case, but soon after the trial started this spring, the Justice Department surprised a lot of people by announcing that it had settled with Live Nation. Almost immediately, the settlement sparked backlash. Here's John Newman, who teaches antitrust law at the University of Memphis.
JOHN NEWMAN: I think they thought they had a decent settlement, and I think they probably thought they would get the states on board with it. But clearly, a big group of states disagreed with that.
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: So actually, a majority of the states - 33 states plus D.C. - decided to keep moving forward with the case.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah, and they ended up winning. So what does this mean, then, for the live entertainment industry going forward?
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: Well, we still don't know what the immediate impact will be for venues, artists or fans. But we do know that this decision has the potential to radically reshape the music industry. I've talked with musicians who say they feel cornered by how the system works right now. They want more options for where to play, who to work with and how much they can charge for tickets. So attorneys for both sides still have to meet and present a proposal to the judge overseeing the case for next steps. We don't know if that's going to be paying fines for those overcharged tickets. We don't know if it's going to be ordering Live Nation and Ticketmaster to be separated. But the jury did say Live Nation was able to exert too much power over the industry.
MARTÍNEZ: That's NPR's Isabella Gomez Sarmiento. Thanks a lot.
GOMEZ SARMIENTO: Thank you so much.
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