# Live Nation Antitrust Case (2024–2026) **Filed:** May 23, 2024, in the Southern District of New York (No. 1:24-cv-03973) · **Judge:** Arun Subramanian · **Plaintiffs:** DOJ plus about 30 state and D.C. attorneys general at filing, growing to **40 states plus D.C.** after ten more joined in August 2024. The government sued to **break Ticketmaster off from Live Nation Entertainment**. Its theory was that Live Nation used its control of concert promotion, amphitheaters and artist management to lock venues into Ticketmaster, and used Ticketmaster to lock artists into Live Nation promotion. It filed in Merrick Garland's DOJ under Jonathan Kanter, and [[Gail Slater]] inherited it. It became the defining antitrust case of the second Trump term because of how the federal and state plaintiffs split. ## The split - **Trial opened March 2, 2026.** - **DOJ settled mid-trial.** It signed a term sheet on March 5 and announced the deal on March 9. The terms: - a **$280 million** fund for state damages claims - a **15% cap** on service fees at Live Nation amphitheaters - divestiture of **13 amphitheater booking agreements** - venues may sell up to **half their tickets** through rival platforms - an **eight-year** consent-decree extension - **no Ticketmaster divestiture** The deal came three weeks after Slater was pushed out. Her exit was reportedly tied in part to lobbying for exactly this kind of settlement (see [[Antitrust Division]]). - **Six states signed on:** Arkansas, Iowa, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma and South Dakota. AP's first count was seven. **More than 30 states plus D.C.** kept going, led by New York under [[Letitia James]] and by California. The trial resumed with the states as the only plaintiffs on March 16. ## The verdict On **April 15, 2026**, after four days of deliberation, the jury found that Live Nation had: - unlawfully monopolized primary ticketing at major concert venues - unlawfully monopolized large amphitheaters - unlawfully tied amphitheater access to its promotion services It put the overcharge at **$1.72 per ticket** for 22 of the plaintiff states. Live Nation said it "can and will appeal any unfavorable rulings." ## Where it stands (Sept 30, 2026) - **Post-trial motions.** Live Nation filed its Rule 50 and Rule 59 motions on July 2, and the court heard them on July 31. They are still undecided. - **Remedies.** In late May the states asked for a **structural breakup** of Ticketmaster. A bench trial on remedies is expected around February 2027. - **The DOJ deal.** The Tunney Act comment period closed Sept 4. AEG and SeatGeek urged the court to reject it. No ruling yet. - **Not yet decided:** total damages, any remedy, and any appeal. There can be no appeal until there is a final judgment. ## Why it matters This is the sharpest divergence yet between federal settlement policy and state enforcement. The states' damages claims run through the *parens patriae* authority that the [[Hart-Scott-Rodino Act]] gave state attorneys general in 1976. If the states win a breakup order, it would come in a **federal** courtroom, in a case the federal government had already walked away from. It would be the first court-ordered breakup of a major American company since the [[AT&T Breakup]]. The case also makes a political-economy point about what the federal settlement did: it bought certainty for the defendant and left enforcement to the states. ## See also - [[US Antitrust and Monopoly Timeline]] · [[Antitrust Division]] · [[Gail Slater]] - [[Antitrust]] · [[Hart-Scott-Rodino Act]] · [[New Brandeis Movement]] · [[AT&T Breakup]]