{"id":10094,"date":"2026-03-28T05:20:38","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T05:20:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/live-nation-trial-recap-ovg-ceo-competitive\/"},"modified":"2026-03-28T05:20:38","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T05:20:38","slug":"live-nation-trial-recap-ovg-ceo-competitive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatrustedlawyers.com\/blog\/live-nation-trial-recap-ovg-ceo-competitive\/","title":{"rendered":"Live Nation Trial Recap: OVG CEO, ‘Competitive’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n\tThe third week of Live Nation\u2019s antitrust trial featured testimony from the new CEO of Oak View Group (OVG) about the company\u2019s controversial client-steering arrangement with Ticketmaster, while Live Nation\u2019s first defense witness said there are \u201clots of promoter options\u201d for top touring acts.<\/p>\n

\n\tYou\u2019re reading <\/em>Billboard\u2019s weekly Live Nation trial recap, a weekly one-sheet of everything that happened in the monopoly case against the concert giant. Stay tuned here each Friday for all the testimony and big events you might have missed.<\/em><\/p>\n

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\n\tWHAT HAPPENED<\/strong>: State attorneys general largely concluded their case-in-chief against Live Nation \u2014 though technically they have not rested and plan to call a few more witnesses later on due to scheduling issues \u2014 while Live Nation began putting on its own witnesses. The defense case is expected to run for another week and include testimony from Drake\u2019s manager, Adel Nur<\/strong>, aka Future the Prince<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\n\tRecall that the monopoly case is now being led by states because the Department of Justice (DOJ) struck a settlement with Live Nation a week into trial. The Wall Street Journal<\/a> <\/em>reported last week that President Donald Trump personally pushed for the deal on the recommendation of Endeavor CEO and former Live Nation board member Ari Emanuel<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\n\tThough the DOJ settlement calls on Live Nation to curb some allegedly anticompetitive practices, it would not require the divestment of Ticketmaster. Meanwhile, states including New York and California are pushing forward with the continued goal of breaking up the two live events giants.<\/p>\n

\n\tWHO TESTIFIED<\/strong>: Chris Granger<\/strong>, who took over as CEO of OVG following the indictment of founder Tim Leiweke <\/strong>on federal bid-rigging charges last year, was called as a government witness on Wednesday (March 25) to talk about the venue management company\u2019s $20 million client-steering arrangement with Ticketmaster. As was required by the terms of a non-prosecution agreement in the Leiweke case, Granger confirmed that OVG was paid to encourage venues to choose Ticketmaster as their exclusive primary ticketing vendor \u2014 and that it did not disclose this incentive arrangement to clients.<\/p>\n

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\n\tWhile not illegal, the states allege that the secret fees between OVG and Ticketmaster bolstered Live Nation\u2019s anticompetitive edge. Law360<\/a><\/em> reports that Granger, being grilled about why this arrangement wasn\u2019t disclosed to clients, testified, \u201cI don\u2019t know why, we should have.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tGranger did testify, however, that he would recommend Ticketmaster to venues regardless of any incentive because it\u2019s a superior platform to AXS or SeatGeek. \u201cIt still has the biggest database [and] it has the best name recognition, so when you\u2019re trying to sell tickets, it has a bit of a marketing halo,\u201d explained Granger. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tLive Nation began its defense case on Thursday (March 26) with a key witness who countered that the company is not <\/em>a monopolist: Omar Al-joulani<\/strong>, Live Nation\u2019s president of touring. According to Courthouse News Service<\/a><\/em>, Al-joulani testified that he works with top touring acts like Coldplay, Kendrick Lamar, Drake and Imagine Dragons \u2014 but that Live Nation doesn\u2019t have long-term contracts with these stars and has to constantly prove it\u2019s the best choice among promoters.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThere are lots of promoter options,\u201d said Al-joulani, noting that the company has lost out on business with top artists like Morgan Wallen and Bruce Springsteen. \u201cI can\u2019t stress [enough] how competitive the business is.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\tThe jury also heard this week from Nicholas Hill<\/strong> and Rosa M. Abrantes-Metz<\/strong>, two PhD economists who are serving as the states\u2019 expert witnesses, as well as Ticketmaster\u2019s global president Mark Yovich <\/strong>and former AEG Presents president Rick Mueller<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\n\tWHY IT MATTERS<\/strong>: Granger\u2019s testimony was a big deal because OVG has been a big part of the Live Nation antitrust case since the beginning. In its initial 2024 complaint, the DOJ alleged that OVG operated as a \u201cpimp\u201d and \u201chammer\u201d to protect Ticketmaster exclusivity arrangements, which are central to the monopoly claims.<\/p>\n

\n\tOVG stipulated to some of these facts as part of its non-prosecution deal in the Leiweke case \u2014 a separate criminal antitrust proceeding related to the construction of the Moody Center in Austin. That prosecution is now dead, however, because Trump pardoned Leiweke in December. \u00a0The DOJ had been hoping to get Leiweke to testify at the Live Nation trial, too, but his pardon seems to have scuttled that effort.<\/p>\n

\n\tAs for the defense case so far, Al-joulani\u2019s testimony bolsters Live Nation\u2019s consistent argument that there is robust competition in all areas of the live entertainment business, including touring, venue ownership and ticketing. The company says any attempts to prove otherwise are based on misleading metrics.<\/p>\n


\"Billboard
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