A jury in a high-stakes antitrust trial on Wednesday found that Live Nation and its subsidiary, Ticketmaster, illegally maintained monopoly power in the ticketing market.
A group of jurors delivered the verdict in Manhattan federal court after around five weeks of trial, which featured testimony from dozens of witnesses. The jury began deliberating on Friday.
The complaint, initially brought by the Justice Department and the dozens of state attorneys general in 2024, claimed that Live Nation monopolized the industry by controlling ticketing, concert booking, venues and promotions.
The lawsuit alleged that the company engaged in “anticompetitive conduct,” resulting in fans paying higher fees, artists having fewer options for touring, and venues coerced to use Ticketmaster.
The jury found that Ticketmaster overcharged concertgoers in the plaintiff state by $1.72 per ticket at “major concert venues” as a result of its anticompetitive behavior. Other monetary damages are possible, which U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian will ultimately decide at a later date.
Live Nation, which has vehemently denied acting as a monopoly, saw its stock drop over 5% on the news as investors weighed what the verdict could mean for the company's future.
Following the decision, Jeffrey Kessler, an attorney for the states, told NBC News outside of the courtroom, “It’s a great day for antitrust law. It’s a great day for consumers. This case is a tribute to the 34 states and the District of Columbia who carried this case forward and it was my great honor to be working with them together on this."
New York Attorney General Letitia James and California Attorney General Rob Bonta praised the verdict in separate statements oissued on Wednesday.
“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," James said.
Bonta called the verdict "a historic and resounding victory for artists, fans, and the venues that support them."
“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.
Live Nation has not yet issued a statement.
Antitrust lawyers previously told NBC News that settlements can range from a modest set of conduct changes to sweeping consent decrees.
The federal government struck a surprise deal with the company in March after a face-to-face meeting between Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino and Omeed Assefi, the acting assistant attorney general for the Antitrust Division.
The settlement came just weeks after the ousting of Gail Slater, who had served as the Justice Department’s top antitrust chief before abruptly exiting her position on Feb. 12. Slater had been particularly aggressive against Big Tech companies during her tenure.
In a post on X following the verdict, Slater wrote, "Congrats to the mighty State AG coalition that stood behind this case. You made antitrust history today. You fought the good fight, you finished the race, and you kept the faith."
In an interview with NBC News, the jury forewoman weighed in on how deliberations went.
“Anti-trust is not an easy subject, but easy in a sense that we were all respectful about each other, about what we were thinking,” she said. “We were taking turns about expressing our beliefs.”
She said Live Nation "demonstrated during the trial, many things where they were doing wrong," such as "charging the fans for things that they were not supposed to charge."
"Hopefully they will do the right thing in the future," she added.
The DOJ settlement required Ticketmaster to divest up to 13 amphitheaters, reserve 50% of tickets for nonexclusive venues and cap ticketing service fees at 15%.
After the deal was reached, a senior justice official said it would lower prices by expanding choices for both artists and consumers.
“This settlement will resolve all remaining matters with the DOJ, without any admission of wrongdoing,” Live Nation previously said in a statement.
Still, a majority of the state attorneys general snubbed the deal and pursued their own claims against the live events giant. Leading up to Wednesday's verdict, Ray Seilie, an attorney at Kinsella Holley Iser Kump Steinsapir, told NBC News that the DOJ settlement, which he described as highly unusual, would set “a floor or minimum” for further remedies in the states’ case.
Subramanian will ultimately determine the remedies.
During closing arguments, Kessler pleaded with jurors to "apply your common sense."
“You’re New Yorkers," he said. "I trust that you know when someone is blowing smoke or being straight with you.”
"It’s time to hold them accountable," Kessler added.
The states found that Ticketmaster has an 86% share of the ticketing market at “major concert venues,” which Kessler defined as roughly 250 amphitheaters and arenas in the U.S. with capacities of 8,000 and hosting more than 10 concerts a year.
Live Nation, meanwhile, argued the states have defined the market too narrowly, maintaining their market share is closer to 44% when a broader set of venues — including all stadiums, arenas and amphitheaters, as well as those that host sports — is taken into account.
Beyond venue operations, Kessler said Live Nation “kept digging the moat deeper around the monopoly castle,” with its lengthy exclusive ticketing contracts with venues and allegations of threatening to withhold concerts from any if they switched to rival ticketers.
Those arguments came even after the states narrowed the scope of their case.
Last week, the states dropped their claim that Live Nation engaged in unlawful exclusive dealing with venues, focusing instead on broader monopolization allegations. At the time, legal experts said the move could simplify the case for jurors, but also make it harder to directly tie the company’s conduct to higher ticket prices.
David Marriott, an attorney for Live Nation, responded to Kessler’s claims, saying, “This notion that the fans and the venues are doing worse with Live Nation, but that’s simply not true.”
The company is “bringing concerts to the country and fans,” Marriott said.
While Marriott conceded that Live Nation is a “big” company, he said, “It’s not against the law. We are fierce competitors.”
