At this year’s conference hosted by the National Independent Venue Association, one of the most closely watched discussions had little to do with booking trends, sponsorships or venue operations. Instead, attendees heard directly from two former senior antitrust officials who helped build the government's case against Live Nation Entertainment and Ticketmaster, alongside veteran WSJ reporter Dave Michaels, in a conversation that focused squarely on the most consequential question facing the live entertainment industry today: what happens next?
With a federal jury having already found Live Nation liable for monopolizing ticketing and amphitheaters, the discussion centered less on whether the company violated antitrust law and more on what remedies the court will impose on the company moving forward.
The panel featured former Department of Justice antitrust leaders David Dahlquist and Roger Alford, both of whom offered unusually candid assessments of the case, the government's settlement decision and the path ahead.
Remedies Are Now the Real Battle
For independent venues, promoters and artists, the liability verdict was only the first phase of the war.
The next stage—remedies—may ultimately determine whether the trial becomes a historic turning point or simply another chapter in a decades-long struggle against market concentration.
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