A jury found Wednesday that entertainment giant Live Nation, which hosts tens of thousands of concerts a year, and its Ticketmaster subsidiary had a harmful monopoly over big venues.
The ruling, in a lawsuit brought by dozens of states, won’t immediately bring relief for concertgoers who have long complained about high ticket prices.
But it could cost Live Nation hundreds of millions of dollars and perhaps force the company to sell some of its concert venues when the judge hands out penalties later.
What’s with these headlines? This is already the third article pretending that something has changed: Live Nation still has a monopoly and, of course, isn’t going to change its business practices.
This ruling doesn’t change a thing.
The bottom line is this:
In a country like the U.S., where the legal system is rotten to the core, that will never happen. The behemoth won’t be taken down; instead, there will be a ridiculously small fine that bears no relation to the profits Live Nation makes by having no competition whatsoever.
Even if the judge were brave enough to order the breakup of this cartel, a small “donation” to the criminals in the White House would be enough to sweep the matter under the rug.
Headlines like these suggest that there is a chance for justice in the U.S. system - but that is simply not the case. It is always and exclusively the billionaires who win. That’s as sure as death and taxes.