Live Nation and Ticketmaster ran a monopoly over big US venues, jury finds

Concert giant Live Nation and its subsidiary Ticketmaster have had a harmful monopoly over big music venues, a jury in the US has found.

The ruling that could cost the company - which also has a significant share of the UK festival and concert market - hundreds of millions of dollars and have a big impact on the industry.

The verdict in New York came after four days of deliberations at the end of a high-stakes trial, following several years of scrutiny over the company's prices and practices.

Live Nation has denied it is a monopoly and said in a statement that the verdict "is not the last word on this matter".

Its dominance in the industry was picked up by US politicians in 2022, when Ticketmaster was forced to cancel its general sale of tickets to Taylor Swift's much-anticipated Eras tour due to "extraordinarily high demands".

The American civil case was initially brought by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) and dozens of individual US states in 2024, with the claim that Live Nation monopolised the industry by controlling ticketing, concert booking, venues and promotions.

In March this year, Live Nation Entertainment settled with the DoJ for $280m, subject to a judge's approval.

Some states joined the settlement - a deal that included a cap on service fees at some venues, plus some new ticket-selling options for promoters and venues.

However, more than 30 states continued with the trial.

Among other things, jurors found Ticketmaster's anticompetitive practices led to people in 22 states paying an extra $1.72 per ticket, which the judge could order the companies to pay back. Penalties are yet to be determined.

Live Nation Entertainment owns, operates, controls booking for or has an equity interest in hundreds of venues, and Ticketmaster is widely considered to be the world's largest ticket-seller for live events.

Ticketmaster was established in 1976 and merged with Live Nation in 2010. The company now controls of 86% of the market for concerts and 73% of the overall market when sports events are included, according to an attorney for the states, Jeffrey Kessler.

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Live Nation said in a statement following the verdict: "The jury's verdict is not the last word on this matter. Pending motions will determine whether the liability and damages rulings stand."

It said it plans to renew a motion for judgment "as a matter of law, which the Court deferred until after the jury returned its verdict".

"That motion addresses all liability theories," the company continued. "The Court previously noted that Live Nation's motion raises serious issues".

What about the UK?

The company also came under scrutiny in the UK over the ticket sale for the highly anticipated Oasis reunion.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) carried out an investigation and announced in September that it had secured a number of commitments from Ticketmaster, after finding it did not offer fans enough clarity on pricing.

CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell said the changes would give fans more information about prices and clear descriptions on what they are paying for. "If Ticketmaster fails to deliver on these changes, we won't hesitate to take further action," she said.

(c) Sky News 2026: Live Nation and Ticketmaster ran a monopoly over big US venues, jury finds