KEY POINTS:
- A federal jury in Manhattan found on April 15, 2026, that Live Nation and its Ticketmaster unit operated as an illegal monopoly, CBS News and NPR reported.
- The jury found the companies liable on all monopolization counts and determined Ticketmaster overcharged consumers by $1.72 per ticket, the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General said.
- Live Nation’s settlement with the Justice Department was signed in March, one week into the trial and before the verdict, according to the Associated Press. Music Business Worldwide reported the deal lets the company keep Ticketmaster.
- U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian had not ruled on whether to approve that settlement as of Oct. 8, Music Business Worldwide reported.
- Live Nation’s request to overturn the verdict or order a new trial was argued July 31 without an immediate ruling, TicketNews reported.
A federal jury in Manhattan ruled on April 15 that Live Nation and Ticketmaster operated as an illegal monopoly, handing dozens of states an important legal win against the ticketing giant, CBS News reported. Nearly six months later, The International Telegraph found no published report that the judge has ruled on either Live Nation’s bid to erase that verdict or the settlement the company reached with the Justice Department before the jury began deliberating.
The verdict
NPR reported that the jury reached its decision after four days of deliberations, in a victory for 33 states and the District of Columbia that continued the case after the Justice Department settled.
“The jury found the companies liable on all monopolization counts, and determined Ticketmaster overcharged consumers by $1.72 per ticket,” the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General said in an April 15 release.
TicketNews reported on Aug. 3 that jurors concluded Ticketmaster illegally maintained monopoly power in primary ticketing markets and that Live Nation used its control of large amphitheaters in an unlawful tie involving its concert-promotion services.
CBS News reported that the overcharge finding applied to customers in 22 states. TIME reported that it covered 21 states and the District of Columbia. The judge will determine total damages and penalties, according to California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office, as reported by CBS News.
Live Nation disputed the reach of the award. According to CBS News, the company said the $1.72 figure applies only to tickets sold at 257 venues, representing about 20% of total tickets, and only to fan purchases in certain states over five years. “Based on that scope, we believe the aggregate single damages figure would be below $150 million, which would be trebled,” the company said.
“The jury’s verdict is not the last word on this matter. Pending motions will determine whether the liability and damages rulings stand,” Live Nation said in a statement reported by CBS News. The company added that it “can and will appeal any unfavorable rulings on these motions.”
“A jury found what we have long known to be true: Live Nation and Ticketmaster are breaking the law and costing consumers millions of dollars in the process,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement reported by NPR.
“In the face of dwindling antitrust enforcement by the Trump Administration, this verdict shows just how far states can go to protect our residents from big corporations that are using their power to illegally raise prices and rip-off Americans,” Bonta said, according to CBS News.
“This was a massive win for the state AGs and an historic miss for the DOJ,” University of Notre Dame law professor Roger Alford wrote in an email to NPR.
The settlement came first
The Associated Press reported on March 9 that a term sheet for the Justice Department settlement was signed the previous Thursday and revealed in court that Monday, during the trial’s second week. Subramanian called it “entirely unacceptable” that nobody told him until late Sunday, the AP reported.
Under the term sheet, according to the AP, Live Nation agreed to let up to 50% of tickets be sold through any ticketing marketplace at amphitheaters it owns, operates or controls, to cap Ticketmaster service fees at those amphitheaters at 15%, to divest ownership or control of 13 amphitheaters, and to create a $280 million fund to settle claims or pay civil penalties to states. The AP reported the deal also extends the company’s consent decree with the Justice Department by eight years. TicketNews later described the venue term as the termination or modification of Live Nation’s rights involving 13 venues.
A senior Justice Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity under terms set by the department, called the deal a “win-win for everybody” and said at least 10 states were expected to join, the AP reported. Music Business Worldwide reported that six states have joined, with their shares of the fund totaling about $18.6 million, according to Live Nation’s second-quarter 10-Q filing.
“We have never relied on exclusivity to drive our ticketing business, it has simply been the result of having the best products, services and people in the industry,” Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino said, according to the AP.
James said the pact “fails to address the monopoly at the center of this case,” and North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson called it “a terrible deal,” the AP reported. Stephen Parker, head of the National Independent Venue Association, told NPR the settlement was “not significant enough to call a slap on the wrist.”
Two decisions pending
Before the settlement can be entered, Subramanian must find it is in the public interest under the Tunney Act, according to a July 13 statement from the National Independent Venue Association, which said public comments were due by Sept. 4. Pollstar reported on Sept. 15 that rivals filed a late flurry of objections, including an AEG filing that argued the settlement “does not break Ticketmaster’s grip; it tightens it.”
Music Business Worldwide reported on Oct. 8 that Pollstar had reported in July that Subramanian was likely to rule between mid-September and mid-October. “He has yet to do so,” Music Business Worldwide reported. Alford said a judge could eventually reject the settlement in light of the states’ verdict, according to CBS News.
TicketNews reported that Subramanian closely examined the evidence behind the verdict at a July 31 hearing but did not immediately rule on Live Nation’s request to erase it or order a new trial. The outlet reported that the amphitheater and tying claims drew the closest scrutiny, that the verdict remains in place while the motions are pending, and that remedies discovery is stayed until they are resolved.
What the states want
The states’ lawsuit asks the court to order Live Nation to divest Ticketmaster, compensate consumers who overpaid and bar the challenged practices, according to the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office. TicketNews reported that if the verdict survives, the states are expected to seek relief that could include separating Ticketmaster from Live Nation, amphitheater divestitures, limits on exclusive contracts, damages, restitution, civil penalties and independent oversight.
Hypebot, citing Courthouse News, reported in May that the judge indicated a remedies hearing likely would not come until as early as February 2027.
“They’ve been making promises for decades and then breaking those promises,” Alford told CBS News, adding that the failure of past behavioral remedies “increases the chances of a breakup.”
Music Business Worldwide reported that Live Nation booked a $450 million legal accrual in its first quarter, which the company described in an SEC filing as its best estimate of its eventual loss relating to the six settling states and the jury’s damages award.
This is a developing story. Information may be incomplete and will be updated as more details become available.
