A federal jury ruled Wednesday that Live Nation has been operating as an illegal monopoly. The verdict could lead to a split between the entertainment giant and its ticketing subsidiary Ticketmaster, and provide relief to concertgoers fed up with dynamic pricing and mysterious service fees.
The ruling came as internal Slack messages surfaced during the trial in which Live Nation employees joked about taking advantage of customers, including a conversation about parking fees, which prosecutors argued revealed the company’s true attitude toward customers.
The ruling is the latest development in a web of litigation that began in 2024 when the Justice Department and 40 state attorneys general sued Live Nation for alleged monopolistic practices. The two companies merged in 2010 to form an entertainment giant that came to control the majority of ticket sales and venue bookings in the country, making it more difficult for other companies to compete, according to the complaint. Without meaningful competition, customers have been forced to accept Live Nation’s questionable pricing model, which critics say benefits the company’s bottom line rather than its artists.
Last month, the Justice Department reached a tentative settlement with Live Nation, but another state-level case was already underway. But 34 of the attorneys general moved forward, and the jury returned its verdict on Wednesday.
During the widely watched trial, Slack messages surfaced between two Live Nation employees. Ben Baker, currently Venue Nation’s director of ticket sales, and Jeff Weinhold, currently senior director of ticket sales.
“These people are really stupid,” Baker said during a conversation about the parking fee hike. “It almost feels bad to take advantage of them, bahahahaha.”
In a later conversation, also regarding parking fees, Baker said, “It’s robbing a blind baby.”
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Live Nation argued that the comments represented “ad hoc banter rather than policy, decision-making or consequential facts.”
As part of the settlement with the Department of Justice, Live Nation will pay a $280 million fine, sell at least 13 venues and require them to accept bookings from competing promoters. But the consequences could be even more severe given the jury’s finding that Live Nation operated as an illegal monopoly.
What happens next is not clear. Judge Arun Subramanian will still have to decide on a remedy at a later date. However, there is still a possibility that Live Nation and Ticketmaster may break up.
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