"Robbing them blind, baby. These people are so stupid. I almost feel bad taking advantage of them BAHAHAHAHAHA. Baker brags in one exchange pertaining to a Kid Rock show in Tampa Bay, joking about overcharging and price-gouging fans as well as being able to raise prices on ancillary services such as parking seemingly at will."
"Live Nation's original court filing described the DMs as off-the-cuff banter, not policy, decision-making, or facts of consequence. In a statement to Bloomberg, the company has since added: The Slack exchange from one junior staffer to a friend absolutely doesn't reflect our values or how we operate."
"The DOJ's deal will require Live Nation to cap its exclusivity contracts with venues at four years and its ticketing service fees at 15%. The company will also have to divest from exclusive booking agreements at 13 venues, allow rivals like SeatGeek and Eventbrite to list tickets on its online marketplace, and pay out nearly $300 million to states."
The U.S. Department of Justice reached a settlement with Live Nation following a week-long antitrust trial. Previously excluded Slack messages between two Live Nation regional directors from 2022 were released by court order, revealing conversations where executives joked about overcharging fans and raising ancillary service prices. Live Nation characterized the messages as informal banter not reflecting company policy. The settlement requires Live Nation to cap exclusivity contracts at four years, limit ticketing fees to 15%, divest from exclusive booking agreements at 13 venues, allow competitor ticket platforms on its marketplace, and pay approximately $300 million to participating states. Some state attorneys general plan to continue pursuing the case independently.
#live-nation-antitrust-settlement #ticketing-industry-regulation #price-gouging-allegations #doj-enforcement-action #venue-exclusivity-contracts
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