Salem, Oregon – A courtroom fight that began with mounting frustration over rising concert ticket prices has now ended in a major victory for Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield and a multistate coalition that challenged the power of Live Nation and Ticketmaster.
After a five-week trial, a jury found that Live Nation and Ticketmaster violated federal and state antitrust laws, siding with Rayfield and 33 other attorneys general who argued that the companies used their dominance to choke off competition across the live entertainment industry.
The verdict marks a significant turn in a case centered on whether one corporate giant had gained too much control over how concerts are promoted, where they are held, and how tickets are sold.
At the heart of the case was the claim that Live Nation’s reach stretched across nearly every major part of the live event business.
According to the states, that grip allowed the company and its Ticketmaster unit to block meaningful competition from rival ticketing platforms, promoters, and venue operators. Jurors agreed, finding that Ticketmaster unlawfully maintained a monopoly over ticketing services for major concert venues. They also found that Live Nation held monopoly power in the market for large amphitheaters and unlawfully tied artists’ access to those venues to the use of its own promotion services.
The coalition’s case began in May 2024, when Rayfield, 40 other states, and the U.S. Department of Justice sued Live Nation. They alleged the company’s structure and conduct helped drive up costs for fans and artists while limiting the ability of others to compete. When the trial opened on March 2, 2026, the federal government later reached a settlement with Live Nation. Rayfield and the coalition of 33 states, however, refused to back away and continued pressing forward in court.
That decision paid off with a verdict the states say confirms what ticket buyers have long suspected: concertgoers were paying more because competition had been pushed aside.
“When a company gets this big, competition dies – and everyday people pay the price,” said Attorney General Rayfield in a release.
“Oregonians who bought concert tickets through Ticketmaster were overcharged. When the federal government chose to step back and allow it to happen, Oregon and other states stepped up and took this on because working families deserve to know every company is playing by the same rules. Today’s verdict shows that accountability is still possible.”
With liability now established, the case is moving into its next phase. Rayfield and the coalition will return to court for a separate bench trial, where they will seek remedies and financial penalties tied to the anticompetitive conduct the jury found unlawful.
