Live Nation and Ticketmaster monopolised ticket market, jury rules
A US jury has found that Live Nation and Ticketmaster have acted to monopolise the ticket-buying market for concertgoers, driving up ticket prices in the process.
The verdict came at the culmination of an extensive trial against the two companies taking place in a New York federal court, ultimately ruling that they were thwarting competition for other companies to sell tickets at a fairer price for fans.
According to CNN, the ruling validates the claims made by the US Justice Department and 39 other state attorney generals that Live Nation and Ticketmaster’s control of the ticket-buying industry had harmed “virtually every aspect of the live music ecosystem”.
During the prolonged trial, in which jurors had been debating the verdict since April 10th, a surprise settlement was reached last week between the Justice Department and Live Nation for certain US states, which includes allowing platform competitors like Seat Geek and StubHub access to certain ticketing allowances for events.
On top of a $280 million settlement between the parties payable in damages to the states affected, the terms of the deal also specify that service fees are capped at 15 per cent, and that the companies must divest exclusive booking agreements to 13 venues.
However, the settlement is not fully reached yet as the terms are yet to be agreed upon by a judge in court.
The news of the verdict broke on the same day that Ticketmaster announced it would be joining forces with the AI software company ChatGPT to launch a new function of its app, where customers can ask questions about their tickets and events with the assistance of an AI chatbot.
Although the latest ruling only affects the way Live Nation and Ticketmaster function in the US, the latter has also been under scrutiny of the UK after the scandal of the use of dynamic pricing for the Oasis reunion tour sale, which occurred in 2024.
The Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) ruled in September that despite the company not breaking consumer protection law, they needed to put more processes in place to make ticket-buying more transparent for fans going forward.
This includes releasing information to fans 24 hours before a ticket sale begins if tiered pricing is being used, as well as updating fans during queues when cheaper tickets have sold out. It said Ticketmaster must not also use “misleading” labels to market one ticket type as being better than another when they are not, and added it will closely monitor this over the next two years.
Live Nation and Ticketmaster have not yet commented on the jury ruling.
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