Live Nation and Ticketmaster antitrust trial to resume after 32 US states reject settlement

This article was updated on 17/03/2026 with the addition of a statement from Live Nation.

The US Department of Justice's (DOJ) antitrust trial against Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation will resume today (March 16) after 32 US states rejected settlement terms. 

The DOJ initially launched legal action against Ticketmaster in 2024, alleging that the 2010 merger between the ticketing platform and Live Nation resulted in it controlling ticketing at around 80% of US venues, driving up prices for fans and forcing artists to work with Live Nation for event promotion.

The lawsuit pointed to Ticketmaster's use of SafeTix, its patented technology which features rotating barcodes to prevent users from fraudulently screenshotting tickets. The lawsuit claims that this technology is being used primarily to prevent "competition" from other platforms.

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Nine US states later joined the lawsuit, which escalated into an attempt to "break up" Ticketmaster and Live Nation in order to "restore competition to the benefit of fans and artists alike.” Live Nation has repeatedly attempted to have the case thrown out of court.

Last Tuesday (March 10), the DOJ reached a tentative settlement with Ticketmaster, which according to AP would have seen 50% of tickets sold for events at Live Nation-owned venues be reserved for other ticketing platforms.

Ticketmaster has reportedly also agreed to cap its service fees at 15% for those venues, and Live Nation would divest from 13 of its properties, including venues in Milwaukee, New York, and Texas. 

In a statement shared with Mixmag, Live Nation insisted that "all amphitheaters where Live Nation has a relationship will move to an open booking model. No venues are being sold." 

"Across our amphitheater portfolio there are venues we own, operate or lease, and others where we simply have a booking relationship," the statement continues. "The 13 venues referenced fall into that latter category — Live Nation does not own, operate or lease those venues." 

"We previously had exclusive booking arrangements with them. Under the agreement, those exclusive booking deals will become non-exclusive, allowing other promoters to book shows at those venues as well."

On Friday (March 13), seven states joined the DOJ's settlement with Ticketmaster - Arkansas, Iowa, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina and South Dakota - all of which, AP notes, have Republican attorney generals.

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However, the opposing 32 states refused to agree to the settlement terms, claiming that the DOJ did not secure necessary commitments from Ticketmaster to ensure a fair deal for fans.

The trial will resume today after a judge ruled to allow a 2022 Slack exchange between two Live Nation employees, regional ticketing directors Ben Baker and Jeff Weinhold, to be unsealed and made available to the public.

In the messages, which were published by Bloomberg last Thursday (March 12), Baker and Weinhold bragged about "robbing fans blind", joking that their buyers are “stupid” enough to accept ancillary fees, which are additional costs not included in the base price of tickets.

“These people are so stupid. I almost feel bad taking advantage of them BAHAHAHAHAHA,” Baker wrote in one message. “[I charged] $50 to park in the grass [and] $60 for closer grass,” he said in another. “Robbing them blind baby, that’s how we do it.”

"The Slack exchange from one junior staffer to a friend absolutely doesn't reflect our values or how we operate," A spokesperson for Live Nation said in a statement to Mixmag. Because this was a private Slack message, leadership learned of this when the public did, and will be looking into the matter promptly."  

"Our business only works when fans have great experiences, which is why we've capped amphitheater venue fees at 15% and have invested $1 billion in the last 18 months into U.S. venues and fan amenities." 

[Via: AP]

Megan Townsend is Mixmag's Deputy Editor, follow her on X