A Manhattan jury found Live Nation Entertainment and its subsidiary Ticketmaster guilty on Wednesday: the concert giant illegally built and maintained a monopoly in the ticketing market, systematically overcharging fans in the process.

The verdict came after a five-week trial at federal court in New York and four days of jury deliberation. Judge Arun Subramanian will now determine the consequences in a separate remedies trial – up to and including a potential breakup of Ticketmaster and Live Nation.

$1.72 Per Ticket – Times Millions

The jury found that Ticketmaster overcharged fans in the plaintiff states by $1.72 per ticket. The states argued, based on their own calculations, that Ticketmaster controls 86 percent of the concert market and 73 percent when sports venues are included. Sounds like pocket change per ticket – but multiplied across millions of sales, the figures add up to damages claims in the hundreds of millions.

The Slack Messages That Said It All

Central to the trial were the internal Slack messages we reported on in detail back in March. In 2022, ticketing directors Ben Baker and Jeff Weinhold discussed how to “rob fans blind” with ancillary fees – in their own words: “These people are so stupid”, “I almost feel bad taking advantage of them”, “robbing them blind, baby”. Baker was subsequently promoted to head of ticketing at Venue Nation.

Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino called the messages “disgusting” on the witness stand, while denying that his company retaliates against venues that switch to competing ticketing providers. Former Barclays Center CEO John Abbamondi testified to the contrary: Live Nation had threatened to pull concerts if venues moved to rivals like SeatGeek.

Jeffrey Kessler, attorney for the plaintiff states, called Live Nation a “monopolistic bully” that had “kept digging the moat deeper around the monopoly castle.”

How the DOJ Sabotaged Its Own Trial

This case has always been political, too. In May 2024, the Justice Department under Merrick Garland filed the lawsuit alongside around 30 states. “It is time to break up Live Nation-Ticketmaster,” Garland said at the time. More states joined by August 2024.

Then came the Trump administration. In February 2026, DOJ antitrust chief Gail Slater was pushed out under political pressure. Live Nation had previously installed Trump ally Ric Grenell on its board and hired lobbyists Kellyanne Conway and Mike Davis.

On March 5 – in the first week of trial – the DOJ quietly reached a settlement with Live Nation. Reports indicate the deal was sealed at the White House. Judge Subramanian was informed four days later and called the process “entirely unacceptable.”

The deal: $280 million into a settlement fund, divestiture of exclusive booking agreements at 13 amphitheaters, a fee cap at 15 percent of face value – but no breakup. A handful of states accepted. Over 30 rejected the deal as insufficient and pressed on independently.

The sidelined Slater responded to the verdict with a public post: “You made antitrust history today. You fought the good fight, you finished the race, and you kept the faith.”

What Comes Next

Live Nation has announced it will appeal and first seek to have the verdict overturned. “The jury’s verdict is not the last word on this matter,” the company said.

New York Attorney General Letitia James disagrees: “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.”

Judge Subramanian now decides on remedies. The states are pushing for a full breakup of Ticketmaster and Live Nation – a measure that is historically rare in U.S. antitrust cases. A parallel consumer class action seeking five billion dollars is also ongoing. The DOJ settlement itself still requires court approval.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta summed up what the verdict means: “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.”

Live Nation dominates the concert market in Europe too. What was argued in Manhattan reaches well beyond American ticket prices.