DOJ settlement forces Live Nation to change business practices
The Justice Department settled the case by requiring Live Nation to limit venue sales and fees due to differing agreements between states.
Live Nation ticketing employees called customers “so stupid” and discussed “blind robbery” in the parking lot in internal messages, according to newly released court documents.
Slack message exchanges from 2022 were made public on March 11 as part of the Department of Justice’s lawsuit against the live entertainment giant.
Federal Judge Arun Subramanian, who is overseeing the case in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, ordered Live Nation to unseal the messages in response to requests from media outlets The New York Times, Bloomberg and MLex.
That came days after Live Nation and the Department of Justice settled their lawsuit. The lawsuit accused the entertainment giant of having an illegal monopoly over the industry.
Live Nation said in a statement that “a Slack conversation from a junior staff member to a friend is in no way reflective of our values or the way we operate.”
“As this was a private Slack message, leaders were made aware of this during public disclosure and will promptly investigate this matter,” the statement said.
“These people are so stupid,” a Live Nation employee wrote in a message.
Newly released Slack messages show conversations between Live Nation employees Ben Baker and Jeff Weinhold, who at the time were regional directors of ticket sales for venues in Florida and Virginia, respectively, according to court filings.
In their messages, Baker and Weinhold partially discussed pricing for non-ticket items, such as VIP club access and premium parking.
In a 2022 exchange about a Kid Rock concert, Weinhold wrote that he listed VIP parking as $250 and club access as $125.
“These people are so stupid,” Baker wrote, adding, “It almost feels bad to take advantage of them.”
In another subsequent exchange, in which they discussed parking fees, Baker wrote that he “took a blind baby from them.”
Copies of the messages were initially sealed as part of court proceedings.
In a statement objecting to the publication of the messages, Live Nation described them as “candid, informal Slack messages between two personal friends.”
“These reflect the banter of the moment rather than the policy, decision-making, or facts that inform Plaintiffs’ antitrust claims,” the filing said.
Alternatively, the Justice Department argued that the messages between Mr. Baker and Mr. Weinhold “represent their then-candid views about how they viewed the fees that Live Nation charged fans for ancillary services at their respective venues.”
Message released days after Live Nation and Justice Department settlement
The message was released on March 11, days after the Justice Department and Live Nation agreed to settle the lawsuit and a week after the trial began. The settlement leaves the status of the trial unclear.
As part of the deal, Live Nation agreed to sell the nation’s 13 largest amphitheaters and impose a 15% cap on service fees for people using the venues, the company said.
The deal also requires Ticketmaster, a subsidiary of Live Nation, to provide its technology to other ticketing companies, such as StubHub, to contact customers.
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that New York, one of more than 20 states also participating in the lawsuit, will not agree to the Justice Department’s settlement and will instead continue its lawsuit against Live Nation.
Contributors: Taijuan Moorman and Aysha Bagchi, USA TODAY
Melina Khan is USA TODAY’s national trends reporter. Contact her at melina.khan@usatoday.com.
