The Canadian-born CEO defended the concert promotion giant’s ticket fees and past comments about its market dominance during more than five hours of questioning Thursday, as a lawyer representing more than 20 states argued in favour of breaking up the company they say has stifled competition. (The Wall Street Journal)

Talking point: Rapino has been Live Nation’s CEO since it became a stand-alone company in 2005, and oversaw the 2010 merger with Ticketmaster that turned it into the behemoth it is today. Though the U.S. Justice Department and several smaller states dropped out of the antitrust case last week after reaching a settlement with the company, the remaining coalition of states is still suing, arguing that the Ticketmaster merger created an industry giant that illegally dominates the market to the detriment of artists, fans and venues. In testimony Thursday, Rapino rejected allegations that he threatened venues for not using Ticketmaster, and distanced himself from employees’ messages boasting about “robbing” fans with high fees. Meanwhile in Ontario, Premier Doug Ford moved to ban scalpers from reselling event tickets for more than their original price.