A 2021 exchange between Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino and Ticketmaster executive David Marcus surfaced by the prosecution on Thursday gave the remaining state plaintiffs one of their clearest new lines of attack in the ongoing USA vs. Live Nation Entertainment trial: that Verified Fan, one of Ticketmaster’s most recognizable anti-scalper talking points, was viewed internally less as a true fan-protection tool than as something the company could use to sell artists and agents on the myth that they were trying to stop ticket brokers, rather than capture the secondary market themselves.
That exchange emerged as the state-led antitrust trial moved toward the apparent close of plaintiffs’ case and into the defense presentation, and as a parallel fight intensified over how much of the evidence the public will ever see. Plaintiffs used the week to press monopoly, damages, exclusivity, and bot-related themes through economists and Ticketmaster executives. At the same time, the docket kept filling with sealing fights, including a fresh press challenge arguing that Live Nation is trying to hide core pricing, contract, and expert materials at the center of the case.