The underlying lawsuit was filed in 2024 and challenged the vertical integration created when Ticketmaster and Live Nation merged, according to the press release. The coalition alleged the combined company consolidated control over ticket sales, venue management, and concert promotion, becoming the largest live entertainment company in the world.
According to the complaint, Live Nation abused its dominance by forcing venues into exclusive agreements under threat of financial retaliation, the press release said. The state also alleged the company leveraged its control over ticketing and venues to pressure artists into restrictive promotional contracts.
Those practices, the complaint alleged, stifled competition, limited consumer choice, and drove up ticket prices through excessive and hidden fees, according to the press release.
Paxton, in the press release, described the company's conduct as an anticompetitive scheme to control concert prices and take advantage of fans, venues, and music artists, and said no corporation should be allowed to illegally monopolize an industry.
The press release stated that the verdict confirms Live Nation's liability. Remedies and penalties will be determined at a later date, according to Paxton's office.
Paxton said he is seeking full accountability under the law, including restitution to affected states and a breakup of Live Nation's monopolies in ticketing and other live entertainment markets, according to the release.