Federal jury rules that Ticketmaster and Live Nation held an illegal monopoly in the ticketing market

Ticketmaster just got bodied in court and honestly, it’s about damn time.

A Manhattan federal jury found that Live Nation and its Ticketmaster subsidiary ran an illegal monopoly over big concert venues. The verdict came after four days of deliberation in a case brought by more than 30 states and the District of Columbia.

The jury agreed with what every single person who has ever tried to buy concert tickets already knew. Ticketmaster is a scam operation dressed up as a business.

Ticketmaster and Live Nation finally got what they deserved

A jury has ruled that Live Nation and Ticketmaster held an illegal monopoly in the ticketing market.

(https://t.co/4CoZCKBBKa) pic.twitter.com/hcrOmKDcyU

— Pop Base (@PopBase) April 15, 2026

This has been a long time coming.

Ticketmaster has been around since 1976 and merged with Live Nation in 2010. The company now controls 86 percent of the concert ticketing market and 73 percent of the overall market when you include sports.

The trial was a disaster for Live Nation from start to finish. CEO Michael Rapino took the stand and got grilled about the Taylor Swift ticket meltdown in 2022.

His excuse? A cyberattack. Sure.

Then there were the internal messages. A Live Nation employee named Benjamin Baker called prices “outrageous,” called customers “so stupid,” and bragged that the company was “robbing them blind, baby.”

Baker has since been promoted to a ticketing executive position. He testified the messages were “very immature and unacceptable.” Immature is one word for it.

Live Nation’s defense was basically “we’re not a monopoly, we’re just really good at what we do.” Their lawyer actually said success isn’t against the law. Which is technically true, but running an anticompetitive monopoly that price gouges millions of people is.

The states’ attorney Jeffrey Kessler called Live Nation a “monopolistic bully.” Hard to argue with that when you’re paying 40 dollars in fees on an 80-dollar ticket.

The verdict could cost Live Nation and Ticketmaster hundreds of millions of dollars just on the $1.72 per ticket the jury found Ticketmaster had overcharged consumers across 22 states. Penalties could pile on top of that and there’s a real possibility the court orders them to divest some of their venues, including amphitheaters they own outright.

Here’s the political backdrop.

The DOJ originally brought this case under Biden. Then Trump’s administration stepped in during the trial and settled its own claims against Live Nation.

That deal included a cap on service fees at some amphitheaters and some new options for promoters to use competitors like SeatGeek or AXS. But it didn’t force Live Nation to split from Ticketmaster. A handful of states joined that settlement. More than 30 said it wasn’t enough and pushed the trial forward. They were right.

New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport said Live Nation has “illegally profited from its monopoly at the expense of hardworking New Jerseyans.” New York AG Letitia James called it “a landmark victory.” The next phase of the case will deal with penalties and could drag on for a while. But the foundation just got cracked.

Pearl Jam tried to fight Ticketmaster back in the 90s and the DOJ wouldn’t even bring a case. Thirty years later a jury finally said what everyone already knew. This company has been ripping people off for decades and getting away with it. Not anymore.

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