They joked about their prospects being “silly” and the way they had been “robbing them blind.” Now, two Dwell Nation execs may very well be off the hook after the Division of Justice (DOJ) settled its antitrust lawsuit in opposition to the occasion promotion firm and Ticketmaster, which it owns.
Prosecutors sought (1) to enter the personal Slack messages from 2022 that had been exchanged between Ben Baker and Jeff Weinhold, each Dwell Nation regional ticketing administrators on the time, into proof within the case that goals to interrupt up the corporate’s “monopoly energy” over dwell occasions (2). In addition they hoped to compel Baker — who’s since been promoted to go of amphitheater ticketing in accordance with Pollstar (3) — to testify. However Baker has evaded that, for now, with the prospect of a settlement (4).
In the meantime, the Slack messages gloated about fleecing prospects, with Baker admitting “I gouge them on ancil costs,” together with how “I cost $50 to park within the grass … $60 for nearer grass.” He added “robbing them blind child … that’s how we do,” to which Weinhold laughed (5).
Weinhold additionally boasted about elevating costs, together with VIP parking at an occasion to $250 (6). “These individuals are so silly,” Baker quipped. “I virtually really feel dangerous profiting from them.”
The messages indicate that the perceived value gouging is deliberate, even celebrated, whereas followers are left holding the more and more hefty invoice — a problem so pervasive that the Federal Commerce Fee (FTC) used it as one of many key factors in a lawsuit in opposition to the businesses final yr (7).
That stated, regardless of the antitrust settlement, quite a few state attorneys normal plan to proceed the combat — which implies there may very well be justice for pissed off followers on the horizon.
The antitrust go well with, launched in 2024 by the DOJ and greater than 30 states, goals to undo the 2010 Dwell Nation and Ticketmaster merger. The New York Instances reported that the union gave Dwell Nation “world attain and a sprawling enterprise mannequin unmatched by any rival” — a $25 billion income generator in 2025 alone, that features management over tons of of venues and artists (8).
However, the Instances added, the federal government accused Dwell Nation of repeatedly breaking a merger settlement to not refuse dwell occasions to venues that didn’t use Ticketmaster’s service, which ultimately led to the present antitrust battle.
The case began underneath the Biden administration however is now underneath President Trump’s DOJ, and this week authorities and Dwell Nation attorneys shocked everybody (9) — together with presiding Manhattan Decide Arun Subramanian — by asserting they’d reached a tentative settlement.
The settlement basically states that Dwell Nation should enable unaffiliated sellers 50% of their tickets to reveals at venues they personal, put a 15% cap on their providers charges and make a portion of its tickets out there to third-party sellers (10). It should additionally relinquish 13 amphitheaters, pay $280 million in damages and comply with an eight yr extension of DOJ oversight.
The federal government touted the settlement as a shopper win, however critics disagree. Syracuse College’s Invoice Werde stated it’s “beneficiant to name that superb a slap on the wrist (11)”; Stephen Parker, of the Nationwide Impartial Venue Affiliation, informed the AP that it “doesn’t seem to incorporate any particular and express protections for followers, artists, or impartial venues (12)”; and former DOJ antitrust lawyer John Newman warned that ending the lawsuit means “carte blanche” for Dwell Nation and Ticketmaster to “hold jacking up costs, hold chopping out competitors (13).”
That’s an enormous disappointment for followers who’ve decried Dwell Nation and Ticketmaster’s practices for years — together with a highly-publicized 2022 lawsuit by Taylor Swift followers for value fixing, fraud and different complaints associated to the sale of tickets for her Eras tour (14).
The settlement, nevertheless, can’t stand with out Decide Subramanian’s approval — the identical decide who known as it “completely unacceptable (15)” and demanded each side seem in court docket subsequent week.
And even when it’s permitted, practically 30 states (16), from New York to Utah, plan to proceed the authorized battle — that means Baker and Weinhold’s phrases might nonetheless come again to hang-out them in court docket.
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California Legal professional Basic Rob Bonta echoed the feelings of his fellow state attorneys normal when he stated that “we’ve already heard that Dwell Nation totally meant to benefit from followers” and promised to “proceed this combat and get a greater deal for customers (17).”
And the states made it clear in a letter to the court docket, filed two days after the settlement announcement, that they nonetheless need to use Baker and Weinhold’s Slack messages as proof — and compel Baker to testify in court docket (18).
That, in fact, may very well be dangerous information for Baker and Dwell Nation. The enterprise world is rife with examples of executives paying a steep value for showing to mock their very own prospects. Campbell’s soup vice-president Martin Bally was fired final yr after a leaked recording heard him disparaging prospects as “poor folks (19).” In November 2013, Lululemon founder Chip Wilson blamed “some girls’s our bodies (20)” for a stretching difficulty with a number of the model’s black yoga pants, resulting in executives resigning and the inventory falling. Wilson resigned a month later (21). And British businessman Gerald Ratner famously tanked his household jewellery firm after a 1991 speech the place he known as their product “complete crap” that “doesn’t signify prosperity (22).”
In the meantime, as the general public awaits the end result of the settlement proposal, Baker’s attainable testimony and the continued state-led combat in opposition to Dwell Nation and Ticketmaster, these trying to buy tickets to music occasions and festivals can discover various choices.
That features shopping for tickets immediately from the venue or signing up for presale codes from the artist’s web site. Some bank cards additionally supply presale ticket entry to their holders, whereas ticket sellers and secondary market sellers that aren’t affiliated with Dwell Nation might additionally work — although followers ought to stay cautious of the pervasive scourge of excessive service charges and associated prices.
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We rely solely on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For particulars, see our editorial ethics and tips.
Bloomberg (1); United States District Court docket Southern District of New York (2, 5, 6, 18); Pollstar (3) AP Information (4, 9, 12, 16); Federal Commerce Fee (7); The New York Instances (8, 15); NBC Information (10, 13); Los Angeles Instances (11); NPR (14); State of California Division of Justice (17); USA Right this moment (19); CBS Information (20); Adweek (21); The Hustle (22)
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