Overview
- Following Wednesday’s verdict, a federal jury in New York ruled Live Nation and Ticketmaster ran illegal monopolies and overcharged fans about $1.72 per ticket on average.
- The case now heads to a remedies hearing before Judge Arun Subramanian, a process that could take time and may not cut prices soon because high demand and limited seats also raise costs.
- Live Nation denies it is a monopoly and says it will challenge the verdict after the Trump Justice Department struck a tentative settlement in March that dozens of states rejected.
- Trial evidence included internal Slack messages in which ticketing staff joked about “robbing” customers with add-on fees like parking and deckchair hire, which prosecutors said showed a culture of exploiting fans.
- California lawmakers are advancing Live Nation–backed bills to ban speculative tickets and cap resale markups, and rivals warn the measures could steer more buyers back to Ticketmaster and tighten the company’s grip.