NEW YORK — The antitrust trial of Live Nation and Ticketmaster resumed Monday in a New York federal court with three dozen states remaining in the case a week after the Justice Department settled its claims and withdrew.

Judge Arun Subramanian greeted jurors in Manhattan federal court by asking them if they had heard any news about the trial in the week in which it was suspended after one week of testimony.

After no jurors raised hands, he told them Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota had settled claims and were no longer part of the case.

Testimony then resumed with an attorney for the remaining states questioning Jay Marciano, the chief executive of AEG Presents, which is Live Nation’s chief competitor.

Marciano said his company has trouble overcoming exclusive contracts used by Live Nation Entertainment and Ticketmaster to dominate the industry in the U.S. He said a more competitive environment exists in Europe, where consumers pay 15% fees on tickets rather than the 25% it cost concertgoers in the United States.

He said AEG would prefer that multiple ticketing companies be allowed to sell every show because “fans are rewarded.” On cross examination, Marciano conceded that his private company was a giant in the industry as well, drawing revenues from events that attracted over 100 million customers annually.

Later in the day, Robert Roux, Live Nation’s president of live concerts, described his employer as an “artist-first company” that does 90% of shows in smaller venues, where it can groom artists to someday reach the large crowds and big paydays that result from shows in stadiums, arenas and amphitheaters.

He said there was already “extreme” competition in the industry from players like AEG who cause Live Nation to change its offers to artists “all the time” to keep or gain a client.

Roux said companies like Live Nation operate in a high risk, low-margin business where contracts they sign require guaranteed money be paid to artists, often in advance, with no assurance that the prospect for ticket sales might be interrupted suddenly by something the artist says, a change in the economy or by a surprise like the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

One recent tour, he testified, required an advance payment to cover roughly $20 million pre-tour costs, including the rental of 87 semitractor trailers to haul everything needed for the show.

“Through it all, we just keep doing what we’re used to doing and do our best,” he said.

Questioned by a Live Nation lawyer, Roux said artists choose where they play and negotiate details like ticket prices. He said he never asked an artist to play a venue where they didn’t want to play and asked if his company ever withheld shows from venues that refused to use Ticketmaster, he said flatly: “Not true.”

For a time last week, it seemed the trial might not proceed at all. The states requested a mistrial after U.S. government lawyers said they’d reached a tentative settlement. After the judge urged the states to negotiate for several days with attorneys for Live Nation, the states withdrew their mistrial request and Subramanian said the trial would resume Monday.

On Friday, lawyers for the states indicated that seven states were well on their way to joining the federal government’s planned settlement, but the judge said any state that had not reached a final signed deal by Monday would remain in the case until they did.

As the trial resumed, 36 states and the District of Columbia continued to press claims that Live Nation Entertainment and its ticketing subsidiary, Ticketmaster, are blocking competition and driving up prices for fans. They say this was done through threats, retaliation and other tactics to control virtually every aspect of the industry, from concert promotion to ticketing.

Lawyers for Live Nation and Ticketmaster have tried to show jurors that the entertainment and ticketing business is more complicated than the states are portraying it and that it’s impossible to monopolize an industry that is largely controlled by artists, sports teams and venues that set prices and decide how tickets are sold.

The Justice Department said last week that it settled its case after winning concessions from Live Nation that would open up some ticketing to rival ticketing companies and ultimately lower prices for consumers. Numerous states criticized the deal, saying the federal government failed to get enough concessions from the company.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.

Months after the infamous Coldplay kiss cam controversy, former HR executive, Kristin Cabot has spilled the beans to Oprah Winfrey about the incident that took social media by storm. Cabot made an appearance on The Oprah Podcast, to open up about the ‘affair’ allegations that spread on social media like wildfire. While the former HR executive previously confirmed that she was already separated from her husband when she was allegedly ‘caught’ with her boss Andy Byron, she revealed some new details about her personal life on Oprah’s show.

Kristin Cabot reveals ex-husband was also at Coldplay concert

According to People, Kristin revealed that her estranged husband, Andrew Cabot, was also attending the same concert that night, with his own date. “My daughter messaged me and said, ‘Oh, it’s so great that you and Andrew are both at Coldplay,'” she said and added, “So she let me know that my estranged husband was also at the concert.”Looking back at the incident, she shared that she considered the possibility of ‘running into’ her ex at the Gillette Stadium, but thought to herself, “There’s 55,000 people here. I’m probably not going to run into him.” However, looking back at the situation, she added, “That would have been better at the end of the day if I’d just run into him.”

Kristin Cabot on her ex being ‘aware’ of her relationship

Opening up about her personal life and the state of her marriage at the time, she suggested that her estranged husband would not have been surprised to see her spending time with Byron. She said, “He [my ex] knows how closely Andy and I worked together, he knows we socialised – like got lunches and got drinks. It was fine.”Pointing out the nature of her work and the ‘close relationships’ she has had to maintain with the CEOs she worked with, she added, “so it didn’t matter.”

About the Kristin Cabot and Andy Byron controversy

Kristin and Andy went viral on social media around the globe after their awkward reaction in the kiss cam video went viral online. In the clip, Cabot was seen in Byron’s arms when the camera paused on them. However, their reaction prompted Coldplay frontman Chris Martin to joke about a possible “affair”. While at first their identity was unknown. The internet found out that the two actually worked together, prompting strain not only on their personal lives, but also their professional lives. The controversy ultimately led to both leaving their jobs. Cabot has since filed for divorce from her husband. She previously told The New York Times that she believed Byron was also in the process of separating from his wife at the time. However, Byron has not publicly commented on the incident and has since been seen putting up a united front with his wife.