GoKawiilNewly unsealed documents show that a Live Nation regional director boasted of gouging ticket buyers and “robbing them blind” with fees for ancillary services such as slight upgrades to parking.
Live Nation has tried to exclude Slack messages from a trial that seeks a breakup of Live Nation and its Ticketmaster subsidiary, claiming the messages are irrelevant to the case, “highly prejudicial,” and would “inflame the jury.” The US government and state attorneys general opposed the motion to exclude evidence. US District Judge Arun Subramanian of the Southern District of New York hasn’t ruled on the motion yet, but ordered the documents unsealed yesterday.
Live Nation has touted the experiences it offers concertgoers at amphitheaters but sought “to exclude candid, internal messages in which the individual who is currently Head of Ticketing for these amphitheaters calls fans ‘so stupid,’ explains that he ‘gouge[s]’ them, and brags that Live Nation is ‘robbing them blind, baby,’” said a memorandum of law filed by the US and states.
The messages were “sent between Live Nation employees Ben Baker and Jeff Weinhold on the workplace collaboration tool known as Slack,” the memorandum said. The “robbing them blind” message was sent by Baker.
“As of 2022 (when most of the messages were sent), Mr. Baker was a regional Director of Ticketing for venues including Live Nation’s MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre (a major concert venue),” the brief said. “Mr. Weinhold was also a regional Director of Ticketing for venues including Jiffy Lube Live (another major concert venue). Mr. Baker is now Head of Ticketing for Venue Nation (the component of Live Nation responsible for operating its amphitheaters), and Mr. Weinhold is a Senior Director of Ticketing for Live Nation’s Capital Region.”