For months, sources to Digital Music News had indicated — even promised — that USA v. Live Nation would never head to trial, thanks to feverish, late-stage settlement discussions between the concert giant and the feds. Live Nation failed to toss the case, but a trimmed-down list of legal issues also weighted in Live Nation’s favor.

The trial did get underway, but only for a few opening salvos. Now, a settlement has been finalized according to details confirmed by Live Nation execs to DMN. In terms of bringing this one home, Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino is credited with hammering out the final terms late last week with top DOJ officials.

Importantly, this settlement doesn’t automatically retire state-led actions, and it appears that multiple states, including New York, will be moving forward with their own actions — potentially at a more aggressive pace. At present, nearly 30 state attorneys general have vowed to continue litigation against the concert giant, which could generate an even more complex legal headache for the concert giant (here’s DMN’s full coverage of the state actions marching forward).

Live Nation has successfully avoided being split from Ticketmaster, maintaining its critical ‘flywheel’ business model despite the government’s original discussion of dismantling the merger. Incidentally, a breakup appeared far less likely heading into the start of the trial, and maintaining the post-merger combination of Live Nation+Ticketmaster easily represents the biggest win here.

In a technical first, Ticketmaster must allow rival sellers like SeatGeek or Eventbrite to use its proprietary platform to list and sell tickets directly. At present, it’s unclear what that will look like, and how these arch-enemies will actually cooperate.

Another important aspect in this ‘opening’ will be the shared platforms and technologies deployed, as well as the DOJ’s actual enforcement of the imposed measures. Will future volleys include complaints by SeatGeek and others that Ticketmaster is refusing to cooperate? — signs point strongly to ‘yes’.

As part of the settlement, Live Nation will be forced to move to an open booking model for the amphitheaters it has a relationship with. Per an email to DMN, at least 13 venues with an exclusive relationship will move to an open booking model and become non-exclusive, allowing other promoters to book those venues.

But Live Nation emphasized that no amphitheaters are being sold as part of this settlement, despite what previous reports suggested.

Long-term, ultra-restrictive ticketing agreements will now be curtailed. According to the preliminary settlement documents, exclusive ticketing agreements between venues and Ticketmaster are now capped at a maximum of four years to prevent long-term market lock-ins.

The agreement mandates a 15% cap on service fees at Live Nation-owned amphitheaters to provide direct cost relief to concertgoers. At this stage, it’s unclear exactly how that 15% will be applied, though it appears to be a gross, all-in 15% limitation.

But while the federal case is closed, several states—led by New York’s Letitia James—have refused to settle and will continue their own legal battles against the company.

The company says they’ve set aside a $280 million fund ‘to address the states’ damages claims,’ though the specifics ended there.

As expected, Wall Street is warm and receptive to the news, with shares of LYV enjoying a small bump. More broadly, this settlement may also signal a more lax regulatory approach under Trump’s second term, which could also have positive impacts for markets.

More as this develops.