Jury Finds Live Nation and Ticketmaster Operated as an Unlawful Monopoly

Remember those expensive concert tickets you bought that seemed a bit off, maybe even ridiculous? Well, you weren’t crazy after all. In an ongoing lawsuit, a jury in New York has found that Live Nation and Ticketmaster have been acting as an unlawful monopoly, overcharging customers for tickets.

Eric England

This lawsuit began in 2024 when the Department of Justice, alongside forty states, formed a coalition against the music industry giant. California, New York, Texas, and Tennessee are just a few of the states involved. The legal conflict was sparked by the overwhelming ticket prices and problems surrounding Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour. To all the Swifties who suffered this pathetic upcharge, we hope Live Nation and Ticketmaster will be “swallowing [their] pride standing in front of [us], saying [their] sorry for that night.”

Legal issues and finger-pointing have been occurring long before this, with Pearl Jam notably boycotting Ticketmaster in the ‘90s. At the start of this current seven-week trial, the Department of Justice settled with a few other states, which forced the company to allow competitors to offer tickets to their events, cap ticketing service fees to no more than fifteen percent, get rid of exclusive booking agreements with specific venues, and set up a $280 million fund for state damages.

However, some states deem this not enough and call for a different kind of injunction. The remaining states are hoping Live Nation and Ticketmaster will have to be broken up in some way that more closely fits anti-trust laws protecting industries from having one company dominate all competition. The federal jury in New York has now announced that it finds Live Nation and Ticketmaster guilty of these acts, overcharging states by $1.72, and now we await the judge’s ruling.

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Live Nation has already stated that they plan to appeal if an unfavorable ruling is made,

meaning this could be taken to the federal appellate court or the Supreme Court, potentially.

Lawyers such as Scott Grzenczyk have said that the anticipated changes are not meant to have an immediate effect on ticket prices, but an alteration to conduct and standards in the industry that will create better outcomes for the consumer in the long run.

Follow along with the lawsuit to see what penalties are dished out, and to see where this David and Goliath story will go next.