Live Nation Staff Taunts Fans In Messages. ‘Robbing the Blind.’
Live Nation ticketing staff called customers “stupid” and discussed “blinding” them while texting internal messages, according to newly released court documents.
The Slack messaging service, dating back to 2022, was released on March 11 as part of a Justice Department lawsuit against the live entertainment giant.
Arun Subramanian, the federal judge presiding over the case in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, ordered Live Nation to release the messages in response to requests from the New York Times, Bloomberg and MLex.
It came days after Live Nation and the Department of Justice settled the case. The lawsuit accused the entertainment giant of operating illegally in the industry.
In a statement, Live Nation said, “Slack’s transition from a junior employee to a friend does not reflect our values or the way we work.”
“Because this was a private Slack message, leadership learned about it when the community did, and will look into the matter immediately,” the statement said.
‘These people are idiots,’ a Live Nation employee wrote in the messages
The newly released Slack messages show an exchange between Live Nation employees Ben Baker and Jeff Weinhold, who were then regional ticket managers for venues in Florida and Virginia, respectively, according to court documents.
In the messages, Baker and Weinhold discussed, in part, prices for non-ticket items such as VIP club access and premium parking.
In a 2022 exchange about a Kid Rock concert, Weinhold wrote that he listed VIP parking for $250 and club access for $125.
Baker wrote, “These people are so stupid,” and added, “I almost feel bad for exploiting them.”
They discussed parking prices in one recent exchange, in which Baker wrote, “to rob them of a blind child.”
Copies of the messages were initially sealed as part of court proceedings.
In a filing opposing the release of the messages, Live Nation described them as “private, informal Slack messages between two friends.”
“They reflect objections, not policy, decision-making, or facts related to plaintiffs’ antitrust claims,” the filing said.
Additionally, the Department of Justice argued that the messages between Baker and Weinhold “provide a clear, contemporaneous look at how Live Nation is charging fans for related services at their venues.”
The messages released days after the Live Nation settlement, DOJ
The messages were released on March 11, days after the Justice Department and Live Nation agreed to a settlement in the case, and a week after the trial began. The settlement has left the status of the trial unclear.
As part of the deal, Live Nation has agreed to go out to up to 13 theaters nationwide and impose a 15% service fee cap on patrons, the company said.
Ticketmaster, a subsidiary of Live Nation, is also required to provide its technology to other ticket sellers, such as StubHub, to reach customers, according to the agreement.
New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that her state, one of more than twenty-two that is a party to the lawsuit, will not accept the DOJ’s settlement and instead pursue legal action against Live Nation.
Contributors: Taijuan Moorman and Aysha Bagchi, USA TODAY
Melina Khan is USA TODAY’s national trends reporter. They can be reached at [email protected].
This article first appeared in USA TODAY: Live Nation employees tease fans with text messages. ‘To blind them.’
Reporting by Melina Khan, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
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