United States: parent company of events giant Ticketmaster found guilty of illegal monopoly

A federal civil jury declared this Wednesday, April 15 that Live Nation, the parent company of Ticketmaster, was guilty of illegal monopoly in violation of American antitrust laws after a trial in New York.

The global concert promotion and ticketing giant reached an out-of-court settlement in early March with the US Department of Justice which withdrew from the prosecution, but 34 US states decided to continue the lawsuit against the company. After this verdict, the judge in charge of the case, Arun Subramanian, will now have to determine the reparations in a separate procedure, which could go as far as the dismantling of the group and the sale of Ticketmaster.

According to American media, the jury found that Ticketmaster had overcharged its customers by $1.72 per ticket sold. The total amount of damages will be set by the judge in the coming days.

Proposal for damages rejected

Live Nation bought Ticketmaster in 2010 with the approval of the Department of Justice, under conditions. The group has since been accused of abusing its dominant position in the show organization and ticketing markets.

The lawsuit, brought by the ministry and 40 states, began in March in New York before the amicable agreement was reached after a week of hearing: Live Nation notably agreed to pay $280 million in damages and sell 13 theaters. But a majority of states rejected those terms and moved forward with the lawsuit.

“Faced with the decline in the application of antitrust laws by the Trump administration, this verdict shows how far states can go to protect our citizens from big companies who use their power to illegally raise prices and defraud Americans,” reacted the Attorney General of California, elected Democrat Rob Bonta.

At the hearing, the boss of AEG Presents, Live Nation’s main competitor, declared that the average fees on the sale of a concert ticket reached 25% of the face price in the United States, compared to 15% in Europe, a difference which he attributed to Ticketmaster’s control of the American market.