Live Nation has told a New York federal court that a new appeals-court ruling cited by the Plaintiff States actually undermines their case, not helps it, as both sides prepare for a court hearing on the company's bid to overturn the April antitrust verdict against it. The dispute centres on a July 13 decision by the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, with the states arguing it supports their opposition to Live Nation's post-trial motions, while Live Nation insists the ruling instead backs its own effort to have the verdict thrown out or a new trial ordered.

The states pointed to Cumulus Media New Holdings v. The Nielsen Co., in which the Second Circuit upheld a finding that Nielsen had likely unlawfully tied its national and local market data products, arguing this shows coercion need not be explicit. Live Nation countered that the ruling actually requires proof a buyer was coerced into an unwanted product and that competitors suffered market harm, neither of which it says exists in its case. Judge Arun Subramanian is due to hear arguments on Friday 31 July on Live Nation's motions targeting the April verdict, which found the company illegally monopolised the US ticketing and amphitheatre markets and overcharged consumers by $1.72 per ticket; separately, Live Nation and the Department of Justice have also moved to block certain states from obtaining discovery into the government's settlement with the company.