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A jury has found that Live Nation<\/a> has been illegally operating as a monopoly in violation of federal and state antitrust laws. The verdict arrived following a seven-week trial and four days of deliberations. Penalties against the live-music industry giant, which also owns Ticketmaster, will be decided at a later date, but they could range from monetary damages to a break up of Live Nation and Ticketmaster. Live Nation has previously denied acting as a monopoly.<\/p>\n The decision arrives a month after the company reached an initial settlement<\/a>, which required Live Nation to divest from 13 of its 394 amphitheaters and cap its exclusivity contracts with venues at four years. Ticketmaster\u00a0also had to permit competitors, such as SeatGeek and Eventbrite, to sell their tickets through its platform. Notably, the DOJ did not require Live Nation to split from Ticketmaster. While seven of the plaintiff states accepted the initial DOJ\u2019s terms, the attorneys general for more than 30 states stayed on the case, arguing that the terms needed to be stricter to lessen Live Nation\u2019s market dominance.<\/p>\n Last month the<\/em> Wall Street Journal<\/em> reported<\/a> that President Trump personally intervened in the Live Nation case, and that both sides hashed out the initial March 9 agreement at the White House four days before it was announced publicly. On April 14, a group of U.S. Senators\u2014Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Richard Blumenthal (D-Ct.), Mazie Hirono (D-HI.), and Peter Welch (D-VT.)\u2014asked the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to reexamine the settlement and whether a deal was \u201cmade in response to political pressure,\u201d per Variety<\/em><\/a>, adding\u2014in a nod to WSJ<\/em>\u2019s story\u2014that \u201creports indicate that President Trump was even involved in efforts to settle the case and that the terms of the settlement were negotiated at the White House. No one representing the interests of consumers, fans, artists, or venues was present.\u201d<\/p>\n Pitchfork has reached out to Live Nation for comment.<\/p>\n The Department of Justice and the attorneys general for 38 states first filed an antitrust lawsuit<\/a> against Live Nation Entertainment in 2024, alleging that the company held a monopoly over the live music industry. The suit argued that the concert giant was breaching antitrust laws through its exclusivity contracts, threats to rivals, and leveraging of market domination over artists, resulting in inflated prices and stifled competition.<\/p>\n \u201cThese service providers should work to serve the interests of artists and fans,\u201d the suit argued. \u201cGenuine competition for and among these service providers would generate the best, most cost-effective, and fan-friendly experience. But the world live music fans live in today is far from that.\u201d<\/p>\n Four days into the trial, internal Slack messages between Ben Baker, head of ticketing for Venue Nation, and Jeff Weinhold, a senior director in the ticketing department, were made available after a number of publications successfully petitioned New York federal judge Arun Subramanian to release them. The conversations centered<\/a> on Live Nation\u2019s exorbitant pricing and the effect it has on fans, with Baker bragging in one message, \u201cRobbing them blind, baby\u201d and referred to customers as \u201cso stupid,\u201d claiming that he almost feels \u201cbad taking advantage of them BAHAHAHAHAHA.\u201d<\/p>\n Live Nation currently owns or controls more than 265 concert venues across North America\u2014including over 60 percent of the main 100 amphitheaters in the United States and, through Ticketmaster, around 80 percent of major venues\u2019 ticketing for concerts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n