A federal jury in Manhattan, New York, has found that Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation, have been acting as a monopoly, ultimately stifling competition and overcharging consumers.
In particular, Live Nation and subsidiary Ticketmaster hold a harmful monopoly over large music venues, the jury noted.
However, Live Nation asserted in a statement that “the jury’s verdict is not the last word on the matter”, pointing out that the ruling could cost them hundreds of millions of dollars and have a major impact on the industry.
According to the company, pending motions will determine whether the liability and damages rulings stand.
“Of course, Live Nation can and will appeal any unfavourable rulings on these motions,” the concert giant added.
Live Nation dominance
The verdict on April 15 is a legal win for Washington and the 33 states that accused the company of wielding its immense power over too many aspects of the live entertainment industry – from concert promotion and artist management to venue operations and ticketing services.
As reported by NPR, the ruling is vindication for the many disgruntled artists, venues and fans who say they have been paying the price under such a monopoly.
The verdict thus has the potential to reshape the live-music industry in the US.
Live Nation’s dominance in the industry was first flagged by US politicians in 2022 when Ticketmaster was forced to cancel its general sale of tickets to Taylor Swift’s highly anticipated Eras Tour due to “extraordinarily high demands”.
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The jury’s findings
Amongst other things, jurors found Ticketmaster’s anti-competitive practices led to people in 22 states paying an extra $1.72 per ticket, which the judge could now order the companies to pay back.
The jury’s award applies to a limited number of tickets at 257 venues – representing about 20 per cent of total tickets – and only to purchases by fans (excluding brokers) in certain states over the past five years.
Based on their calculations, Live Nation believes the aggregate damages figure would be below $150 million, which would be tripled by the court as per legal standards.
But the money most likely won’t go directly to consumers, Rebecca Haw Allensworth, a visiting professor at Harvard Law School who specialises in antitrust law, told NPR.
She said that any judgment amount would go back to the participating states, which can use the funds as they see fit, most likely for some sort of consumer-related issue.
“Really, here, the win for the consumers is the future and the restoration of competition, if that happens, which is why I think it’s so important for the remedy to go beyond this dollar amount,” Allensworth said.
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