Live Nation CEO Confronted With Own Words on ‘Too High’ Ticket Fees in Antitrust Trial

Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino was confronted with his own comment that the ticket sales company’s fees were “too high” during Thursday’s appearance at the landmark antitrust trial.

Specifically, Rapino was intensely probed by the lawyer representing more than 20 states — including New York, California and Tennessee, among others— that have sued the entertainment company for allegedly operating an illegal monopoly that has stifled competition and driven up ticket prices.

While grilling Rapino, the lawyer, named Jeffrey Kessler, confronted the executive for having once bragged that Live Nation and Ticketmaster’s business was “recession proof,” allegedly also noting that he had “built an incredible moat around the castle of Live Nation.” 

After Kessler asked Rapino to clarify what he meant by the “moat,” the CEO defended that the company had “put the pieces together to make it a global, attractive business for artists.” However, according to the Wall Street Journal, Kessler was not convinced by this explanation, suggesting instead that the “moat” was the company’s alleged practice of intimidating venues into using Ticketmaster in order to nab the best concerts.

Later on in the questioning, which lasted over five hours in a New York federal court, Rapino was grilled over the company’s ticket fees, with Kessler claiming that increased service and venue fees had led to rising prices.

Though Rapino noted that he had been made aware of the complaints regarding fees from fans and musicians, including The Cure’s Robert Smith, he feigned ignorance when confronted with his own denouncement of the additional costs.

Namely, a conversation between Rapino and a booking agent for Alabama Shakes shared in court saw the CEO responding, “Our fees are too high. We can’t defend them.” Rapino, however, noted he did not recall writing the remark.

Although, he did defend Live Nation’s venues for raising the costs of parking and beverages, as well as the ban on concertgoers bringing their own lawn chairs. (This policy forced some concertgoers to spend up to $15 to rent a chair, in addition to their ticket cost.)

“People were bringing all different sizes of chairs,” Rapino said of the policy. “It was a safety hazard for sure.”

Rapino’s lengthy testimony addressed a number of controversial topics, including the staffer who bragged about overcharging customers.

“It’s disgusting. It’s not the way we operate,” Rapino said, adding that he wasn’t aware of the matter until the comments were revealed and that the employee, named Ben Baker, who boasted about “robbing” ticket buyers, had not been fired.

Jeff Weinhold and Baker’s Slack-based conversation was made public in New York’s Southern District court last week. The pair discussed “price gouging” customers, calling them “so stupid” for purchasing tickets and other upgrades at inflated prices. However, Live Nation later defended in a statement to TheWrap that Baker and Weinhold’s comments did not reflect the company’s values, adding, “Because this was a private Slack message, leadership learned of this when the public did, and will be looking into the matter promptly.”

Earlier this month, Live Nation struck a federal settlement deal with the Justice Department, which came less than a week after the groundbreaking trial began. Live Nation will reportedly pay a fine of up to $280 million, as well as divest itself of at least 13 amphitheaters across the U.S.

Though, as we mentioned, individual states are still pursuing their cases.

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