Live Nation worker admitted ignoring predatory ticket broker practices: court docs

A Live Nation employee admitted to turning a blind eye when brokers were buying up big blocks of tickets, saying “normally I’d look other way,” according to newly released court documents.The chat logs, which surfaced as part of a federal antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster and its parent Live Nation, appeared to undermine Live Nation’s claim ahead of the trial that the company’s stance was that “artists should have the final say in how tickets reach their fans across all platforms in the live event ecosystem.”In a series of Slack messages that took place in January 2022, Live Nation employee Ben Baker grumbled to Jeff Weinhold that an outside ticket broker had purchased all available wheelchair-accessible seats for an upcoming Kid Rock concert.Both were regional ticketing directors at the time.“That’s weird.

F–king some scum broker out of NY gobbled my ADA for Kid Rock,” Baker wrote, referring to seats that are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.“Normally I’d look other way but the dumba-s listed them on TM+,” Baker added.TM+ is Ticketmaster’s in-house resale platform.Weinhold replied, “Yeah if they listed right away ..

cancel them.”Live Nation representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Live Nation and Ticketmaster are accused of charging exorbitant ticket prices and stacking the deck against potential rivals.Live Nation struck a controversial settlement with the Justice Department earlier this week, though a coalition of states are still pursuing the case.In separate Slack messages from 2021 to 2023 that have since gone viral, Baker and Weinhold gloated about charging massive fees on ticket purchases at Live Nation venues, saying “these people are so stupid” that “I almost feel bad taking advantage of them,” according to court records.The chat logs showed Weinhold bragging about charging $250 for VIP parking at a Virginia venue and Baker describing charging “$50 to park in ...