“The jury gave us the verdict to build” a better concert industry, writes the executive director of the National Independent Venue Association. “The court now has to be bold enough to do so"

The ruling has major implications across the live music business, as a judge will now decide on remedies, which could include a breakup of Live Nation and Ticketmaster.

The exchanges were revealed in court documents this week as exhibits tied to Live Nation's antitrust lawsuit.

A series of private exchanges in the messaging system Slack were revealed as exhibits in the Justice Department’s antitrust lawsuit against the concert giant.

Instead of moving forward with a jury trial against Live Nation-Ticketmaster as expected, the Justice Department announced a settlement Monday that omitted what used to be on the top of its wish list: a breakup.

Despite the tentative settlement, a coalition of 26 participating states plus the District of Columbia say they reject the settlement terms and plan to move forward with the antitrust lawsuit.

The Justice Department said Monday that it has tentatively settled its antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster and parent company Live Nation Entertainment. But some states signaled they won't join the deal and will continue an ongoing trial.

The agreement, which requires a judicial sign-off, would avoid a breakup of the concert giant. But states that joined the suit object to the terms.