Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and a coalition of 33 other attorneys general today won their lawsuit against Live Nation after a jury found that Live Nation and Ticketmaster violated federal and state antitrust laws by eliminating competition and driving up costs for fans, artists, and venues across the country. After a five-week trial, the jury found that Attorney General Ellison and the coalition successfully proved that Live Nation and Ticketmaster have unlawfully maintained and abused their monopoly power that prevents other ticketing services, venue owners, and concert promoters from successfully competing. As a result, fans are charged higher prices for tickets.
Having successfully proven their case on liability to the jury, Attorney General Ellison and the coalition will argue for remedies and financial penalties at a separate bench trial to be set soon.
“One of the major drivers of the high cost of living in America is corporate greed and illegal monopolistic behavior — and Live Nation and Ticketmaster are prime examples. It is well past time that corporations be held legally accountable for monopolizing whole sectors of our economy, so I am thrilled the jury was moved by the power of our arguments and delivered this historic verdict,” Attorney General Ellison said. “Live Nation’s monopoly has made billions and billions of dollars on the backs of Minnesotans who have struggled to pay absurd rates for concert tickets, artists who have been stifled, and independent music venues that have struggled to get by. We will argue vigorously during the penalty phase of this trial that consumers, artists, and venues need significant relief and that the monopolies that enable this behavior must be dismantled once and for all.”
In May 2024, Attorney General Ellison joined a bipartisan coalition of states and the U.S. Department of Justice in suing Live Nation, alleging that its control over almost every aspect of the live event business — from venue ownership to event promotion to ticketing services through Ticketmaster — allowed it to raise costs for both fans and artists and to suppress competition. During the trial that began on March 2, 2026, DOJ reached a settlement with Live Nation, which some states joined. Attorney General Ellison and the coalition of 33 states rejected the settlement and chose to continue litigation.
The jury today found Live Nation and Ticketmaster liable for violating federal and state laws by engaging in anticompetitive conduct. The jury found that Ticketmaster unlawfully maintains a monopoly in the market for ticketing services at major concert venues. The jury also found that Live Nation has a monopoly in the market for large amphitheaters used by artists and that Live Nation unlawfully requires artists who use the amphitheaters it owns to also use its event promotion services. In addition, the jury determined that fans have been overcharged for concert tickets at major concert venues across the country.
Attorney General Ellison encourages Minnesota consumers and businesses who wish to report concerns about anticompetitive business practices to submit a report online via the Antitrust Report Form. Minnesotans can also call the Attorney General’s Office at (651) 296-3353 (Metro area), (800) 657-3787 (Greater Minnesota), or (800) 627-3529 (Minnesota Relay).
