Live Nation and Ticketmaster decided to rule out illegality as US and state judges

The world’s biggest live entertainment company suffered a major blow after a Manhattan federal judge ruled that Live Nation and its subsidiary Ticketmaster illegally controlled major concert venues in the United States, a decision that could reverberate through the global ticketing industry and intensify scrutiny of the United Kingdom market.

After four days of deliberations, the judges along with more than 30 states of the US that had gone ahead with the public action, concluded that the colossus of the concert ended the competition in the business of live events. The judge calculated that Ticketmaster overcharged consumers by $1.72 per ticket, and the presiding judge has yet to decide the final amount of damages.

In an industry that has long drawn the ire of fans, independent promoters and small venue operators, the incumbents see it as reassuring. State counsel, Jeffrey Kessler, described Live Nation in closing arguments as a “private bully” that raised prices for consumers. He told the court that Ticketmaster controls 86 percent of the concert market and 73 percent of the broader live events market when sports are included, numbers that underscore how much the business has come to dominate the industry since Ticketmaster merged with Live Nation in 2010.

Live Nation, which generates more than $22bn in annual revenue, was unrelenting. Its lawyer, David Marriott, argued in his brief that the company’s rating was the result of efficiency rather than anti-competitive behavior, telling the judges that “the success does not conflict with the antitrust laws in the United States”. The company has confirmed that it intends to appeal, saying it remains confident that the “ultimate result” will not be a similar agreement reached with the US Department of Justice.

That deal, announced just days before the trial after the Trump administration took the federal case, obligates Live Nation to build a $280m fund for participating states, pay service fees to certain amphitheaters and pave the way for rival platforms like SeatGeek and AXS to compete in other areas. Worst of all, though, it stops short of forcing the breakup of Live Nation and Ticketmaster, the solution many industry watchers and small-ticket challengers had been hoping for.

A number of states signed up to the agreement, but most went ahead with the trial, saying Washington had issued insufficient permits to the concert giant. Their gamble has paid off. The decision reignites the debate over whether a clean breakup of Ticketmaster and Live Nation’s promotional and venue arms remains the only viable solution to a market that independent promoters have long argued is pitted against them.

The case itself offered a rare look behind the curtain of a murky business. CEO Michael Rapino took the decision and was questioned about a catalog of controversies, including the 2022 Taylor Swift ticket fiasco that sparked political outrage on both sides of the Atlantic. Rapino says the episode was caused by a cyberattack. Less easily explained are internal messages from Live Nation CEO Benjamin Baker, which appeared during the trial, describing some prices as “horrible”, calling customers “stupid” and boasting that the company was “blindsided”. Baker said the comments were “immature and unacceptable”.

Regulatory pressure on Ticketmaster is building in many areas. Last May the Federal Trade Commission introduced rules requiring the disclosure of concert ticket fees. Ticketmaster responded by spending its processing fee on the end of the job, only for the Guardian’s investigation to reveal that the company simultaneously increased other costs to plug the revenue hole. In an email to the Findlay Toyota Center in Arizona, the company reportedly said it “must adjust costs to offset the loss of revenue”. Former regulators have suggested the practice could violate the FTC’s ban on misleading charges, while senators including Connecticut Democrat Richard Blumenthal have accused the company of running “trap and switch” tactics and market manipulation.

The proverb has deep roots. Grunge pioneers Pearl Jam filed a defamation suit against Ticketmaster at the Department of Justice back in the 1990s, only for the regulators to walk away. Over the past thirty years, mood music has changed. For independent UK promoters, smaller venues and a growing group of ticketing platforms who have joined the challenge of looking to expand across the Atlantic, Manhattan’s decision is a clear sign however that the ground beneath the live entertainment industry’s biggest player is beginning to shift.