The future of concert ticket sales could look different moving forward after a landmark court decision handed down this week. A federal jury found that Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation, have been operating as an illegal monopoly. What does this mean for the industry and consumers? Read on for all of the details.

Live Nation and Ticketmaster Found to be Operating Illegally as a Monopoly

A jury in New York City ruled that Live Nation Entertainment Inc. and its subsidiary Ticketmaster LLC have been operating illegally, monopolizing concert venues and ticket sales. The company is the biggest ticketing platform in the U.S.

The civil case jury deliberated for four days before deciding that the industry stalwart was working in violation of federal and state antitrust laws. Judge Arun Subramanian will now determine the damages. Subramanian will conduct a second trial to decide what remedies are warranted. Decisions to be made include whether the company should be forced to break up or if there should be other structural changes to the business.

The Associated Press reported that Live Nation could lose hundreds of millions of dollars as part of just one of the decisions, noting that the jury found that Ticketmaster overcharged customers in 22 states by $1.72 per ticket. While that does not seem like a large amount, the company sold 646 million tickets throughout the world last year.

It is also possible that Live Nation and Ticketmaster may be forced to split. This potential judgment would be considered a victory for the federal government after the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) tried to break up the company almost two years ago. Under the Biden administration, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said at the time 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."

During the trial, Live Nation continued to refute the claims that it threatened venues to sign deals with Ticketmaster using its popular tour as leverage. Although Live Nation acknowledged that it competes aggressively throughout the market, it denied that it was a monopoly. For example, Live Nation attorney David R. Marriott told the jury during closing arguments that "we are fierce competitors" and "trying to win the business."

Jeffrey Kessler, a lawyer representing the states, said that the ruling was a "great day for antitrust law" and a "great day for consumers." There were 34 states in addition to the District of Columbia that brought the case forward.

Reaction from Live Nation Entertainment Following the Verdict

Live Nation Entertainment issued a statement after the ruling, saying that the "jury's verdict is not the last word on this matter." The statement confirmed that the company will renew its motion for judgment to address all liability theories. Live Nation went on to say that they "can and will appeal all unfavorable rulings on these motions."

Regarding the jury award of $1.72 per ticket, Live Nation said that this judgment only applies to a limited number of tickets sold at 257 venues in certain states. According to Live Nation, this represents just 20% of all ticket sales.

Ticketmaster was founded in October 1976 in Phoenix. The company was initially created to sell digital ticketing hardware. However, the company later shifted its business focus to ticket sales, eventually moving its headquarters to Los Angeles. Ticketmaster merged with Live Nation in 2010.

Ticketmaster and Live Nation have had their feet held to the fire for years. The initial filing from the DOJ in 2024 came after the agency launched an antitrust investigation into Live Nation two years prior. This investigation came after over 2 million tickets were sold for Taylor Swift's record-breaking Eras Tour through Ticketmaster's Verified Fan presale. Shortly after this ticket window opened, the company canceled the planned general presale. This left millions of fans without the chance to purchase tickets from the vendor directly.

Swift was visibly angered at how the ticketing experience unfolded for her fans.  The megastar Swift called out the practice and the company; however, she did not specifically name Ticketmaster as the culprit.

Ticketmaster responded to the backlash over how the ticketing process for the Eras Tour was handled by saying that its technology was not perfect. The company alleged that it was working to improve the experience of procuring tickets, particularly for high-demand tours.
 
It was less than a year after the Eras Tour fiasco that Ticketmaster and Live Nation launched their all-in pricing policy. The goal of this policy is to provide more clarity for consumers, eliminating so many of the extra fees that had previously been tacked on to base ticket prices.

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