A federal jury found on Wednesday that Live Nation operates as an illegal monopoly — a verdict that could lead to the breakup of the entertainment giant and its ticketing subsidiary, Ticketmaster, and provide relief to concertgoers fed up with dynamic prices and unexplained service charges.
The ruling came as internal Slack messages surfaced during the trial showing Live Nation employees joking to take advantage of customers — including a discussion about parking prices that prosecutors argued revealed the company’s true attitude toward its customers.
The verdict is the latest development in a web of litigation that began when the Justice Department and 40 state attorneys general sued Live Nation in 2024 over alleged antitrust practices. The two companies merged in 2010 to form an entertainment giant that came to control the majority of ticket sales and venue reservations in the country, making it difficult for other companies to compete, according to the lawsuit. Without meaningful competition, customers had no choice but to accept Live Nation dubious price modelssomething critics say benefits the company’s bottom line rather than the artists.
Last month, the DOJ temporarily settled with Live Nation while a separate state-level lawsuit was already underway. But 34 of the attorneys general is pushed forward — and on Wednesday, the jury delivered its verdict.
During the widely watched trial, Mr Relaxed messages it came between two Live Nation employees: Ben Baker, now head of ticketing for Venue Nation, and Jeff Weinhold, now a senior manager in the ticketing department.
“These people are so stupid,” Baker said in a conversation about the parking rate hike. “I almost feel bad for taking advantage of them BAHAHAHAHAHA.”
In a later conversation, also about parking prices, Baker said, “Rob them blind baby.”
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Live Nation argued that these remarks represented “off the cuff, not policy, decision-making, or events of consequence.”
As part of the DOJ settlement, Live Nation is supposed to pay a $280 million fine and divest at least 13 of its venues, requiring those venues to accept bookings from competing promoters. But given the jury’s finding that Live Nation operated as an illegal monopoly, the consequences may end up being more severe.
What happens next is not clear. Justice Arun Subramanian is yet to decide on the remedies at a later date. But the possibility of breaking up Live Nation and Ticketmaster remains on the table.
