The U.S. Department of Justice and Live Nation-Ticketmaster have settled a major antitrust lawsuit, abruptly ending a trial that promised to expose the company's business practices. The settlement likely averts a corporate breakup but will result in changes to how the company operates.
The episode also covers the complex relationship between AI companies like Anthropic and OpenAI and the U.S. Department of Defense, analyzing the regulatory and ethical fallout from their negotiations. Finally, it explores the practical uses and future of foldable and flip phones in the consumer market.
The main topics covered are the Live Nation-Ticketmaster antitrust settlement, AI companies and Pentagon contracts, and the state of foldable phone technology.
A lot of people are mad at Ticketmaster, and have been for a long time. (Did Swifties directly create an antitrust trial? Discuss.) The US government’s case against Live Nation-Ticketmaster appeared poised to lay bare some of the strangeness of the music business, and maybe even change the way the company works.
The twist in the Ticketmaster antitrust fight
On The Vergecast: music monopolies, Anthropic vs. the DoD, foldable phones, and much more.
On The Vergecast: music monopolies, Anthropic vs. the DoD, foldable phones, and much more.
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And then, well, the Department of Justice and Live Nation-Ticketmaster decided to settle. On this episode of The Vergecast, The Verge’s Lauren Feiner explains what happened during the first few days of the trial, the machinations that led to the settlement, and what’s likely to happen next in this fight. The trial may not be over, but it’s certainly about to change.
After that, The Verge’s Hayden Field joins the show to catch up on the latest between Anthropic, OpenAI, and the US Department of Defense. She explains why OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s deal announcement backfired so spectacularly, why this whole thing is both a big win and a huge problem for Anthropic, and whether the end result of this saga will change the way we use, and regulate, AI going forward.
Finally, David answers a question from the Vergecast Hotline (call 866-VERGE11 or email vergecast@theverge.com!) about foldable and flippable phones. They’re cool, they’re fun, they kind of seem like the future… but what are they for?
If you want to know more about everything we discuss in this episode, here are some links to get you started:
- Live Nation settles government antitrust suit — that probably doesn’t include a breakup
- How Live Nation allegedly terrorized the concert industry
- Did Live Nation punish a venue by taking Billie Eilish away?
- Inside Anthropic’s existential negotiations with the Pentagon
- We don’t have to have unsupervised killer robots
- How OpenAI caved to the Pentagon on AI surveillance
- Trump orders federal agencies to drop Anthropic’s AI
- My favorite folding phone is the one that doesn’t exist yet
- Google Pixel Fold review: closing the gap
- Motorola Razr Ultra (2025) review: looking sharp
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