Live Nation CEO urged by ticked-off judge to settle with states after stunning deal with feds: tickle on the wrist
Live Nation’s CEO faced a ticked-off federal judge on Tuesday after Ticketmaster’s owner reached a surprise settlement with the Justice Department — even as critics called the truce a “slap on the wrist” that won’t curb the company’s control over live events.During an hour-long hearing, US District Judge Arun Subramanian asked Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino to stay in New York and work to reach terms with the remaining members of a coalition of 40 state attorneys general who have not signed the agreement.The judge also reminded Rapino and Live Nation’s lawyers that they were legally bound by the terms of the deal, which will allow Live Nation to avoid a breakup — but Live Nation executive Dan Wall cast doubt on the firm’s ability to reach a settlement with the states.“The probability of us resolving this is about zero,” he said.“Not with that attitude,” the judge shot back, according to Reuters.Subramanian said the states should be ready to continue the case by Monday if they were unable or unwilling to settle.
A committee of six plaintiffs – New York, California, Texas, Tennessee, Florida and Washington, DC – will lead talks for the remaining parties.So far, only a handful have indicated they will join the DOJ settlement.While a deal between the DOJ and Live Nation was signed by last Thursday, the case still proceeded to trial the next day.In an odd twist, lead Justice Department attorney David Dahlquist said earlier this week that he did not receive the term sheet with details about the settlement until around the same time Monday the judge was informed.After the settlement was announced that day, a furious Subramanian said Live Nation’s handling of the situation “shows absolute disrespect for the court, for the jury, for this entire process, and it is entirely unacceptable.”“The judge was pretty pissed that they wasted the court’s time,” a live entertainment industry source said.Live Nation did not immediately...