Live Nation just got declared a monopoly by a jury
A federal jury verdict declared that Ticketmaster, owned by Live Nation, has been engaged in monopolistic practices. Social media has been celebrating the verdict, with many speculating a drastic drop in concert ticket prices.
Attorney General Ken Paxton, who sued Live Nation in 2024, announced his victory against the corporation. The issue stemmed from Ticketmaster’s merger with Live Nation. Formerly separate companies, the two entities merged in 2010. Since then, the corporation has had immense control over artist promotions, concert venues, and ticket sales.
“Live Nation abused this dominance by forcing venues into exclusive agreements under threat of financial retaliation and leveraged its control over ticketing and venues to pressure artists into restrictive promotional contracts. This stifled competition, limited consumer choice, and drove up ticket prices through excessive and hidden fees,” Paxton’s office posted.
Several artists criticized Live Nation’s practices in the past. Most famously, Taylor Swift slammed Ticketmaster for their unsatisfactory delivery of her Eras Tour tickets to fans. Ticketmaster’s system kept crashing because of the volume of fans purchasing tickets. Moreover, many scalpers were able to buy multiple tickets and resell them for astronomical prices.
Swift said of the Ticketmaster fiasco, “It’s truly amazing that 2.4 million people got tickets, but it really pisses me off that a lot of them feel like they went through several bear attacks to get them.”
Everyone’s celebrating except Live Nation
Fortunately, after a seven-week trial in New York City, Live Nation has been declared a monopoly. This violates existing antitrust laws, and Live Nation may be forced to divest from Ticketmaster or restructure. Although many are already celebrating the win, Live Nation told the BBC that “The jury’s verdict is not the last word on this matter.”
It’s possible for Live Nation to appeal or overturn the verdict, but it would prove to be difficult.
The Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) wrote a self-congratulatory post on social media. They said that they were “proud to lead a settlement” on the issue—the post was met with criticism. The DOJ settled with Live Nation, effectively withdrawing from the case while several state attorney generals continued the fight. Instead of demanding further reforms, the DOJ only required Live Nation to divest from its thirteen exclusive agreements with ampitheaters.
Attorney General Jeff Jackson, who partook in the case, lashed out at the Antitrust Division. He said, “You bailed in the middle of trial after cutting a sweetheart deal with Live Nation, tried to pressure the rest of us to accept it, but we pressed on and won the trial without you.”
Regardless of the heated exchanges, social media is largely celebrating the victory. Former Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan, a known aggressive monopoly-buster, congratulated the attorney generals who led the charge.
“This jury verdict holding that the company violated state and federal antitrust laws is a key first step towards ending Live Nation’s monopolistic control and securing real relief for those it harmed,” the former FTC chair posted on her social media account.
Other social media users are overly optimistic about the case, joking that concert tickets will only cost $30 in the next year. In a world where there are ongoing wars, skyrocketing gas prices, and soaring costs of living, cheap concert tickets are definitely one simple, yet acceptable, consolation.
(featured image: Bence Szemerey)
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