Why Are Concert Tickets So Expensive?

The live music industry in the US is booming. Since the decline of CD sales and the advent of music streaming, performing artists have turned to tours to earn more of their income, and ticket prices have skyrocketed. Increasingly, one company has come to profit: Live Nation Entertainment Inc. and its Ticketmaster arm.

The Justice Department and more than three dozen state attorneys general sued Live Nation in 2024, alleging the US’s largest concert promoter and ticketing service illegally monopolized the market for live events. A trial in the federal antitrust case before a New York jury began on March 2. A week later, the federal government and half a dozen states reached a settlement. But more than 30 states have continued fighting in court to force a breakup of the company.