By Dave Michaels, Corinne Ramey and James Fanelli
A federal jury on Wednesday found that Live Nation illegally monopolized the ticketing market for major concerts in the U.S., in a win for a group of states that accused it of overcharging music fans and pressuring venues to use its dominant ticketing service.
The verdict came after five weeks of trial and nearly four days of deliberation by jurors in a New York City federal court. The Justice Department made the decision last month to settle its case against Live Nation, leaving more than 30 states to try their claims without the federal government.
Now, the group of states will likely try to persuade a judge during a new phase of proceedings that splitting up Live Nation is the only way to fix a broken market. Live Nation shares declined by about 2% after the verdict was read.
The bipartisan group of states argued that Live Nation, which merged with Ticketmaster in 2010, built a colossus that dominates essential parts of the live entertainment market, including concert promotion, venue management and ticketing. Its market share in ticketing and promoting shows at large amphitheaters exceeded 70%, according to the states.
Updates to follow as news develops.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 15, 2026 15:14 ET (19:14 GMT)
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