Consumer Prices and Markets

A Manhattan federal jury this week found that Live Nation and its Ticketmaster unit illegally monopolized “big concert venues,” concluding after less than a week of deliberations that the companies engaged in anticompetitive conduct that harmed venues and consumers. The jury determined Ticketmaster overcharged consumers by $1.72 per ticket in 22 states—exposing the company to potential liability in the hundreds of millions—and the trial judge has ordered lawyers for Live Nation, state plaintiffs and the U.S. government to submit a joint letter by late next week proposing a schedule and structure for the remedies phase, which will include the judge deciding damages and any penalties.