Recent court documents reveal that an employee from Live Nation acknowledged ignoring the situation when ticket brokers acquired a significant number of tickets, stating, “Normally, people would turn a blind eye.”
The chat logs, made public as part of a federal antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster and Live Nation, seem to challenge the company’s assertion that artists should control how tickets reach fans in the live event sector.
In a series of Slack messages from January 2022, Live Nation employee Ben Baker expressed frustration to Jeff Weinhold after an external ticket broker purchased all wheelchair-accessible seats for an upcoming Kid Rock concert. Both were regional ticketing directors at that time.
Baker commented, “That’s weird. Some scumbag broker in New York devoured my ADA for Kid Rock,” referring to seats compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
He further remarked, “Normally I would look the other way, but the dumbasses listed them on TM+,” referencing Ticketmaster’s internal resale platform.
Weinhold suggested, “Well, if you’re going to go public right away…cancel it.”
Live Nation representatives did not respond to requests for comment.
Live Nation and Ticketmaster face allegations of charging inflated ticket prices and monopolizing the market against potential competitors. Earlier this week, Live Nation reached a controversial settlement with the Justice Department, although a group of states continues to pursue the case.
In other Slack messages exchanged from 2021 to 2023, Baker and Weinhold boasted about imposing hefty fees at Live Nation venues, calling customers “so stupid” and their actions “almost disgusting.”
One message showed Weinhold bragging about charging $250 for VIP parking in Virginia, while Baker mentioned fees of “$50 to park on the lawn” and “$60 for a nearby lawn” at a different venue.
During their 2022 chat, they discussed revenue generated from “premier parking” fees, which totaled $660,000 in 2021.
Baker wrote, “You stole their eye, baby. That’s the way we do it.”
A spokesperson for Live Nation stated that these messages “do not reflect our values or the way we operate.” They assured that once the public hears about this, leadership will be informed, and an investigation would be launched.
Live Nation appears to have averted a settlement with the Justice Department, which required Ticketmaster to cap service fees at certain venues, allow competitors access to 13 amphitheaters, and limit exclusive agreements. The company is also planning to establish a $280 million fund to resolve state claims.
A federal judge has instructed that if a settlement is not reached, the remaining plaintiffs should prepare to continue their lawsuit against Live Nation on Monday. The judge has asked Live Nation’s CEO, Michael Rapinoe, to remain in New York to assist with this situation.
The dialogue between Baker and Weinhold seems to contradict Live Nation’s repeated claims of working to eliminate predatory brokerage practices that inflate ticket prices—a key point in a separate federal lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
The FTC filed a lawsuit against Live Nation and Ticketmaster in September, alleging that the companies falsely stated they enforced strict limits on ticket purchases, despite brokers regularly exceeding those limits.
The FTC’s case references an internal email where a Ticketmaster executive admitted that Live Nation leadership “has a policy of turning a blind eye” when brokers exceed ticket purchase limits.
Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) criticized Ticketmaster for its inadequate response to the email after Live Nation executive Dan Wall claimed the communication was “grossly out of context.”
