The verdict, returned April 15 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, caps more than two years of litigation brought by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and a bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general. The jury found that Live Nation overcharged tickets sold to consumers from May 2020 through 2024, and that its conduct harmed artists, fans, and venues.
The underlying suit, filed in 2024 by Bonta, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the multistate coalition, alleged that Live Nation's dominance over ticketing and concert amphitheater markets enabled a wide variety of anticompetitive behaviors. The trial began March 2. On March 9, DOJ announced a settlement with Live Nation — a move that a bipartisan group of attorneys general promptly rejected.
The case now returns to the judge to determine the number of tickets Live Nation sold, the total damages amount, final penalties, consumer restitution, and any injunctive relief the company must comply with going forward. Under Section 4 of the Clayton Act, courts may award triple the actual damages to victims of monopolization.
Bonta's statement characterized the result as a demonstration of what state coalitions can accomplish in the face of reduced federal antitrust enforcement, pointing to the participation of both red and blue states in the coalition.