Live Nation monopoly trial heads to jury
After closing arguments, the Live Nation/Ticketmaster monopoly trial was sent to the jury, marking a high‑profile test of claims about concentration in live‑entertainment intermediation. The case is being tracked as a modern example of how access and distribution can become the focus of antitrust scrutiny. (bigtechontrial.com)
A Manhattan federal jury began weighing on April 10 whether Live Nation and Ticketmaster illegally monopolized concert promotion, venues and ticketing. (apnews.com)* The civil case was brought by 34 states after the United States Department of Justice struck a separate settlement with Live Nation on March 9, 2026. Judge Arun Subramanian had already narrowed some claims before trial but let core allegations about venue ticketing contracts and amphitheater practices go to the jury. (pbs.org) (courthousenews.com) State lawyers told jurors on April 9 that Live Nation used long exclusive ticketing contracts, retaliation threats and control of major amphitheaters to protect its position. In closing arguments, they said the company held 86% of the concert-ticketing market and 73% of the broader live-events ticketing market that includes sports. (usnews.com) (bloomberg.com) Live Nation answered that being the biggest company is not the same as breaking antitrust law. Its lawyers said venues, artists and fans still have alternatives, and the company called itself a “fierce competitor” rather than a monopolist. (nytimes.com) (rollingstone.com) The case turns on a basic antitrust question: whether a company won business by offering a better product, or kept rivals out by using its control over several links in the same chain. Here, that chain runs from promoting tours to owning amphitheaters to selling the primary tickets. (justice.gov) (courthousenews.com) That structure has been under scrutiny since Live Nation and Ticketmaster merged in 2010. The Justice Department’s 2024 complaint said the combined company used its reach across promotion, venues and ticketing to squeeze venues and smaller rivals. (justice.gov) (courthousenews.com) The federal government no longer faces the jury because its March settlement would let Live Nation keep Ticketmaster while paying up to $280 million, divesting at least 13 amphitheaters and opening parts of Ticketmaster’s system to competing sellers. Several states rejected that deal and kept pressing for a trial verdict. (pbs.org) (livenationentertainment.com) New York Attorney General Letitia James said the federal deal “fails to address the monopoly at the center of this case” and refused to join it. Live Nation said the settlement resolved the Justice Department’s claims “without any admission of wrongdoing.” (pbs.org) (livenationentertainment.com) Jurors did not reach a verdict on their first day of deliberations on April 10. Their decision will determine whether the remaining states proved that Live Nation’s size crossed the legal line into monopoly maintenance. (courant.com)
