(The Center Square) – Jurors on Wednesday found Live Nation and subsidiary Ticketmaster guilty of illegal monopoly in North Carolina and other states.
“This was one of the biggest antitrust cases in years,” said first-term Democratic Attorney General Jeff Jackson, successor to former Attorney General Josh Stein who joined the state into a litigation with more than 30 other prosecutors. “When the United States Department of Justice announced in March that it had cut a deal with Live Nation and Ticketmaster behind the backs of the attorneys general, I rejected their secret deal because it failed to address sky-high ticket prices for concertgoers. We wanted the jury to hear the evidence and see what consumers have known for years.
“Every fan who’s watched prices pile up on a concert ticket just got proof they were right to feel mistreated by a monopoly. That’s exactly what was happening.”
Officially known as United States v. Live Nation Entertainment and filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, plaintiffs told Judge Arun Subramanian anticompetitive practices involved the venues, retaliation threats and market dominance. The trial was six weeks and went forward even after the Justice Department blindsided fellow plaintiffs with a settlement states – including North Carolina – rejected.
“Today’s verdict confirms that Live Nation has been running an illegal monopoly in the ticket market, abusing concertgoers and artists,” Jackson said. “The case will now head to a second phase where the judge will decide the appropriate remedies to break Live Nation’s hold on the live entertainment industry and restore competition, and our office will stay on the side of bringing prices down for consumers.”
Live Nation and Ticketmaster are connected to a number of amphitheaters in North Carolina. Additionally, some large arenas are also tied to the entertainment giant. Among them large and small are the Lenovo Center and the Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek in Raleigh; First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro; Live Oak Bank Pavilion in Wilmington; Durham Performing Arts Center, or DPAC, and the Carolina Theatre in Durham; Spectrum Center in Charlotte; and the Orange Peel and the Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville.
Filed May 23, 2024, when Stein was attorney general and Jackson was in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Department of Justice – Merrick Garland was the Biden administrator back then – led plaintiffs. Stein has since won election as governor.
David Dahlquist has led the Justice Department from his role as a lawyer in the antitrust division. David Marriott has been leading counsel for Live Nation.
Ticketmaster and Live Nation merged in 2010. The former originated in 1976.
Live Nation’s stock closed Wednesday down 6% with Vivid Seats up 9% and StubHub up 3.5%.
