Does Ticketmaster have a stranglehold on concert ticketing — or is it just ‘bringing joy’?

Policy Entertainment Report Does Ticketmaster have a stranglehold on concert ticketing — or is it just ‘bringing joy’? “Saying you’re better is not a THREAT!” “Saying you’re better is not a THREAT!” by Lauren Feiner Mar 3, 2026, 11:27 PM UTC Image: The Verge / Kenishirotie (via Getty) Part Of USA v. Live Nation-Ticketmaster: all the news on the lawsuit that could take down a giant see all updates Lauren Feiner is a senior policy reporter at The Verge, covering the intersection of Silicon Valley and Capitol Hill. She spent 5 years covering tech policy at CNBC, writing about antitrust, privacy, and content moderation reform. In a downtown Manhattan courtroom on Monday, lawyers for the US Justice Department and 40 state and district attorneys general warned a jury that the concert industry was being squeezed by a monopolist: Live Nation-Tickemaster. After amassing dominance over ticketing and artists’ use of large amphitheaters, lead DOJ counsel David Dahlquist alleged, Live Nation constructed a “flywheel” of power that forced venue customers to stay within its ecosystem. It threatened or retaliated against them when they considered leaving. To even attempt to win business, Dahlquist said, ticketing rivals needed to offer “retaliation insurance” to venues worried about losing out on Live Nation shows by making the switch. “Today, the concert ticketing industry is broken,” Dahlquist told the jury in his opening statement. “It is controlled by Live Nation and the company it owns, Ticketmaster.” In Live Nation’s telling, the story is more upbeat. The company aims to spread joy, and in fact, there’s more concert venues than ever before, said lead Live Nation counsel David Marriott. Even the opening slides were energetic, lit up with images of colorful concerts and tour posters of well-known artists like Bad Bunny and Ariana Grande. “Saying you’re better is not a THREAT!” one memorable slide told the jury, the last word written in red to underscore the point. The next six w...