State attorneys general have resumed the antitrust trial against Live Nation — just as Senate democrats released a new report decrying “half measures” in the Department of Justice’s settlement with the company.
Monday (March 16) marked the first day of Live Nation’s trial since the DOJ revealed a surprise settlement — after witnesses began testifying last week. The deal calls for Live Nation to change certain practices that have allegedly stifled competition in live music, including by capping ticketing fees and relaxing exclusivity policies, though it does not require the company to divest Ticketmaster.
Breaking up Live Nation and Ticketmaster was the original goal stated by both the feds and dozens of states when they teamed up to sue back in 2024. Many states, including officials in New York and California, say this is still a sticking point and have refused to sign onto the DOJ settlement. These states brought back the jury on Monday, picking up the trial right where their now-absent federal colleagues left off.
“California is excited to get back to work, present new evidence to the jury, and to fight for a better deal for consumers,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta in a statement Monday. “Any resolution in this case must actually serve consumers, the marketplace and the law.”
These states received a vote of confidence Monday from Democrats on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which released a minority report titled, “So Casually Cruel: How Ticketmaster’s Monopoly Supercharges Prices and Fees.”
The result of a three-year investigation, including the review of more than 100,000 pages of internal documents, the report claims Ticketmaster is largely to blame for the rising cost of concert tickets. The subcommittee says this is because Ticketmaster has pushed artists to “aggressively” ramp up the use of dynamic pricing and make their tickets available for resale before general on-sales begin.
The report ultimately concludes that Live Nation and Ticketmaster should be split up, with ranking member Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) writing that the DOJ’s settlement “will do little to protect musicians, their fans and independent venues.”
“As state attorneys general move to continue this important antitrust case, this report reinforces what DOJ said when filing its suit in 2024, but which the Trump Administration has evidently forgotten: ‘It is time to break up Live Nation-Ticketmaster,’” wrote Blumenthal.
Ticketmaster representatives criticized the report in a statement on Monday, saying it “misrepresents how the live events industry works.” The company added, “Secondary ticketing creates industry-wide challenges faced by every tour no matter which promoter or ticketing company is used. This is why we’ve long called for industry resale reform, including price caps, while also developing tools to empower artists and protect fans.”
Twenty-six states and the District of Columbia are proceeding full steam ahead with the trial in New York federal court. Three states have officially signed onto the DOJ settlement (Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota), while a handful of others are still negotiating with Live Nation. Any states that do settle will be paid financial damages out of a $280 million fund created by Live Nation as part of the DOJ deal.
The trial resumed on Monday with AEG Presents CEO Jay Marciano, who’d been testifying when news of the settlement pulled the proceedings to a screeching halt last week. Next up on the witness stand was Bob Roux, Live Nation’s president of U.S. concerts.
The jury is expected to hear testimony for several more weeks. Billboard is providing weekly one-sheet trial recaps each Friday, where we’ll sum up all the major testimony and courtroom fireworks and tell you why it matters.
