In its lawsuit accusing Stay Nation Leisure, the live performance behemoth that owns Ticketmaster, of being an unlawful monopoly, the Justice Division drew on a raft of inside communications that supplied a uncommon behind-the-scenes have a look at the business.
The Justice Division argued in an intensive criticism filed on Thursday that the merger of Stay Nation and Ticketmaster, which went by means of in 2010, had harm competitors, hindered innovation and resulted in larger ticket costs and charges for customers. It known as for the corporate to be damaged up.
In response, Stay Nation, which can also be the world’s largest live performance promoter, has mentioned that it isn’t a monopoly, and denied that it has the unilateral energy to lift costs. Opposite to the federal government’s argument about its nice energy, Stay Nation says it now faces extra competitors than ever, and that the Justice Division’s go well with “gained’t cut back ticket costs or service charges.”
Detailing its allegations, the federal government relied on eye-opening emails that it says had been written by Stay Nation’s chief govt, Michael Rapino, and different high-powered figures within the live performance world.
Listed below are just a few of these accusations.
A possible rival’s Kanye West live performance
One episode from 2021 goes to the center of the Justice Division’s allegations that Stay Nation went to excessive lengths to guard its aggressive edge.
Late that 12 months, the federal government says, Stay Nation “threatened industrial retaliation” in opposition to the non-public fairness agency Silver Lake, which had an funding in TEG, an Australian ticketing and promotions firm that was concerned in a extremely anticipated profit present by Kanye West and Drake on the L.A. Coliseum. Silver Lake had additionally invested in Oak View Group, a venue administration firm with shut ties to Stay Nation.
In line with the federal government, Rapino complained to an Oak View Group govt that he seen TEG as a competitor, and Oak View Group relayed to the investor that Stay Nation was “not blissful.” Rapino then advised Silver Lake he was “all in” with Oak View Group, “the place the large play lies with venues — why insult me with this funding in ticketing/promotions and so on.”
TEG had organized a deal to promote some tickets by means of StubHub. In line with the criticism, Stay Nation sought to “frustrate” TEG by blocking these tickets, and consequently “lots of of StubHub’s prospects had been refused entry to the occasion.”
Stay Nation then “threatened to drag its assist from Oak View Group,” and Irving Azoff, the highly effective artist supervisor who was a co-founder of Oak View Group, refused to permit TEG to advertise reveals with any of the artists he managed. Azoff advised Rapino he would demand that Silver Lake promote TEG, and Rapino replied, “Love ya.” In line with the criticism, Silver Lake sought to promote TEG — and supplied it to Stay Nation.
In an in depth response to the Justice Division’s lawsuit, Dan Wall, Stay Nation’s govt vp of company and regulatory affairs, mentioned the declare that Stay Nation had threatened Silver Lake “reveals not solely a disregard for the info, but additionally deep hypocrisy.”
Rapino’s criticism, Wall mentioned, was “essentially the identical” as a priority by each the Justice Division and the Federal Commerce Fee over “non-public fairness corporations making a number of investments in the identical business due to aggressive ‘entanglements.’”
In a separate assertion in regards to the live performance on the L.A. Coliseum, Stay Nation mentioned: “The one factor that we did was frustrate TEG’s efforts to place tickets immediately on the secondary market in violation of our unique rights over major tickets.” Silver Lake didn’t reply to a request for remark.
A competitor turned ‘hammer’
Stay Nation, the federal government says, initially seen Oak View Group as one among its “Greatest Competitor Threats.” However quickly the businesses “colluded,” the federal government says, to “keep away from competing with one another, and chart a mutually helpful marketing strategy to cement Stay Nation’s dominance.”
Oak View Group, the federal government says, operated as an “agent” for Stay Nation, even calling itself a “pimp” and a “hammer” for the bigger firm, typically delivering threats on behalf of Stay Nation to venues that had been contemplating dropping Ticketmaster for an additional ticket supplier.
The federal government’s criticism quotes from what it says are emails from 2016 by which Rapino complains to Oak View Group executives about their intention to advertise reveals with an artist that Stay Nation works with. Oak View Group backs down, with the corporate’s chief govt — who is just not recognized within the criticism, however is Timothy Leiweke — saying: “Our guys obtained a bit forward. All know we don’t promote and we solely do excursions with Stay Nation.”
Wall, the Stay Nation govt, mentioned in response that Oak View Group “has by no means been a live performance promoter, nor aspired to be one,” and that it was merely trying to fill the occasional darkish evening at one among its venues. “To painting that as an settlement to not compete in live performance promotion is farcical,” Wall wrote. A consultant of Oak View Group declined to remark.
A ticketing rival at Barclays Heart
In early 2023, The New York Instances broke the information that Barclays Heart, the world in Brooklyn, was dropping SeatGeek, the younger and aggressive ticketing enterprise it had simply entered a seven-year contract with, and signing a brand new take care of Ticketmaster.
The abrupt change raised eyebrows within the business, and led to questions on whether or not Stay Nation had denied the venue entry to Stay Nation’s greatest excursions as retaliation for switching from Ticketmaster to SeatGeek. Stay Nation denied that on the time, and a evaluate of live performance information by The Instances was inconclusive. The variety of Stay Nation-promoted reveals at Barclays had certainly fallen since SeatGeek took over, however so had these by unbiased promoters.
The Justice Division’s case omits Barclays’ title from the go well with, however Wall confirmed it in a convention name with traders late Thursday. The federal government quotes from an electronic mail that it says was despatched to the venue’s chief govt from “a senior Stay Nation govt” who had heard the venue was switching to SeatGeek: “In any case,” the e-mail says, “ought to take into consideration larger relationship with LN not simply who’s writing a much bigger sponsorship examine,” including a “wink” emoji.
In line with the federal government, Stay Nation “adopted by means of on its threats, re-routing concert events to different venues.”
In response, Stay Nation mentioned, “We categorically deny that any concert events had been rerouted to retaliate in opposition to their determination to go to SeatGeek.”
Shopping for rival corporations
The federal government argues that Stay Nation has acquired numerous corporations with an goal to eradicate rivals in each live performance promotion and ticketing.
Among the many examples the federal government cites are United Live shows in Utah, which used a regional ticketing firm known as SmithsTix. In line with the what the federal government says had been inside communications at Stay Nation, the corporate needed a larger ticketing foothold in Utah however selected to not purchase SmithsTix as a result of doing so would “require us to go to the DOJ.” As a substitute, Stay Nation purchased United Live shows in 2017 and transformed its venues to Ticketmaster; SmithsTix, it mentioned, finally went out of enterprise.
One other is AC Leisure in Tennessee, which had performed an element within the Bonnaroo competition there. Stay Nation took a controlling stake within the firm in 2016. A Stay Nation govt seen the economics of the deal as “not tremendous thrilling,” however known as it “a defensive transfer” in opposition to AEG, in response to the criticism. In 2018, Stay Nation purchased Frank Productions, a promoter in Wisconsin that used ticketers aside from Ticketmaster; Stay Nation acquired the corporate and “flipped the venues to unique Ticketmaster contracts.”
In response, Wall mentioned the deal for AC Leisure was made with a promoter who was in his 60s and needed to retire. “Stay Nation didn’t have a Knoxville workplace, so for $15 million it made the deal,” Wall wrote. “Significantly? The DOJ is difficult that?”
