A New York jury has found that Live Nation and its ticketing subsidiary, Ticketmaster, illegally operated a monopoly in the event ticketing market.
Following the concert giant’s settlement with the Justice Department in its antitrust case last month, the verdict in Manhattan federal court came today after nearly five weeks of trial, which featured testimony from dozens of witnesses, per NBC News.
Though seven of the states that sued Live Nation in combination with the DOJ joined the original settlement, over 30 states continued their lawsuit against the company, accused of stifling competition by intimidating artists and venues into using its ticket services and raising prices on millions of ticket sales.
As a result of Ticketmaster’s business practices, the New York jury found the company overcharged concertgoers in the state by $1.72 per ticket at “major concert venues,” according to the report. Monetary damages could be handed down at a later date, at the discretion of U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian.
Live Nation has categorically denied the monopoly allegations and has yet to issue a statement on the verdict. Today, the company’s stock has already dropped by more than 5%.
Under the terms of its March resolution with the DOJ, Live Nation agreed to allow venues to use multiple ticketing platforms rather than working exclusively with Ticketmaster, and to allow touring artists to work with other outside promoters when playing at Live Nation-owned amphitheaters. The company is also on the hook for up to $280 million in damages to be split among the states that joined the settlement, and must divest up to 13 amphitheaters and reserve 50% of tickets for nonexclusive venues moving forward.
Read more about the historic verdict here via NBC News.
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