Live Nation just took a hit that could reshape how Americans buy concert tickets. A federal jury in Manhattan on Wednesday found that Live Nation and its Ticketmaster unit illegally held monopoly power in the live-event ticketing business, siding with the 34 states plus DC after a five-week antitrust trial, NBC News reports. Jurors, who began deliberating on Friday, concluded that Ticketmaster's conduct led to fans in the plaintiff states paying an extra $1.72 per ticket at major concert venues.

• US District Judge Arun Subramanian will decide what penalties and other remedies the company faces. The company could be forced to split from Ticketmaster, a move then-Attorney General Merrick Garland called for when a federal antitrust case was filed in 2024, the BBC reports. That case was settled last month.

Lawyers for the states argued that Live Nation dominated the industry end-to-end—ticketing, promotion, booking, and venues—and used that control to squeeze artists, venues, and fans, including by steering venues into long-term exclusive ticketing deals. Live Nation countered that its market share has been exaggerated and that being a large, aggressive competitor is not against the law. "Success is not against the antitrust laws in the United States," attorney David Marriott said in his summation, per the AP. The company's stock fell more than 6% after the verdict. During the trial, lawyers for the states cited messages from regional ticketing directors mocking "stupid" fans and boasting of "robbing them blind.'The 34 states rejected the Department of Justice settlement that required Ticketmaster to spin off up to 13 amphitheaters, reserve half of tickets at some venues for nonexclusive deals, and cap service fees at 15%. That deal, which Live Nation accepted without admitting wrongdoing, resolved the federal government's claims but not those from the states, which pressed ahead and won Wednesday's verdict.

• California Attorney General Rob Bonta called the verdict a "historic and resounding victory for artists, fans, and the venues that support them," NBC reports. "In the face of dwindling antitrust enforcement by the Trump Administration, this verdict shows just how far states can go to protect our residents from big corporations that are using their power to illegally raise prices and rip-off Americans," Bonta said in a statement.

Post Malone, Meghan Trainor come down with serious cases of 'Blue Dot Fever' and it's spreading to other touring artists

When Post Malone canceled the first few weeks of his Live Nation-produced stadium tour with Jelly Roll on Friday, the rapper-turned-country star publicly said it’s because he wants to work on new music before hitting the road.

Some music sites instead cited low ticket sales, and music sources confirmed that Malone is afflicted with a condition that’s going around the industry right now: Blue Dot Fever.

“Seems that Post Malone came down with a serious case of Blue Dot Fever,” said a source, referring to the blue dots indicating available seats on a Ticketmaster seating chart. “And it’s contagious.”
“Seems that Post Malone came down with a serious case of Blue Dot Fever,” said a source. Getty Images for StagecoachA local news segment from El Paso, Texas, reported of Malone’s axed Sun Bowl show, “Ticketmaster showed a majority of tickets not sold,” showing the seating chart of the 50K-seat venue with a sea of blue dots. “The blue ones are empty seats.” (Malone has not had a new album since 2024, and went on an 80-gig stadium tour from April to September last year, before announcing the now-paused Big Ass Stadium Tour Part 2.)

Malone said publicly that the cancelations were not because of low ticket sales, but, “truth is, I promised y’all beautiful people new music, and I don’t have the time to finish it before tour starts. We ain’t ready for tour just yet, so I’m making the decision to push the tour back about 3 weeks to get this music done.”

Also coming down with an alleged case of Blue Dot Fever: Meghan Trainor. She canceled her entire “Get in Girl” tour, also from Live Nation, last month, citing work-life balance after welcoming her third child in January. Some reports alleged that ticket sales were partly to blame, but Trainor told fans: “Balancing the release of a new album, preparing for a nationwide tour, and welcoming our new baby girl to our growing family of five has just been more than I can take on right now, and I need to be home and present for each and all of them at this time.”

Zayn Malik has also put his entire Live Nation summer tour on ice, but cited unspecified health reasons after sharing a photo from a hospital bed a couple weeks ago. Ticket sales were “soft, judging by seating maps on Ticketmaster,” Variety reported. Either way, Malik updated fans on his health by telling them: “I’ve been at home recovering and I’m doing well and will be better and stronger than before.”

Whatever the case, one veteran ticket doctor said Blue Dot Fever is going around because “everybody’s high on their own supply. Will the artists finally push back? It’s hurting the fans. The question [for Post Malone] is: Why is he doing another stadium tour? Post Malone will probably need to cancel a bunch more dates. Guess what? Nobody bought tickets — everything is priced so high. It’s all a bad situation.”