“I have VIP parking for up to $250,” Weinhold wrote in another chat. Baker replied, “I almost feel bad taking advantage of them.” Weinhold then mentioned that he had raised the club’s prices to $125 and Baker replied, “I wonder if I could get $225.”
Live Nation said the messages do not reflect the company’s normal operations. “This Slack exchange from a junior employee to a friend absolutely does not reflect our values or how we work,” Live Nation said in a statement provided to Ars today. “Because this was a private Slack message, leadership knew about it when the public did, and will look into this matter immediately. Our business only works when fans have a great experience, which is why we’ve capped amphitheater venue fees at 15 percent and invested $1 billion in U.S. venues and fan amenities over the last 18 months.”
The US and the States said that Live Nation was reducing Baker’s position at the company. “Defendants’ brief fails to mention that this individual has since been promoted and now serves as Venue Nation’s Head of Ticketing with responsibilities related to all of Venue Nation’s venues,” the plaintiff’s brief says.
Live Nation said in a March 8 filing that the messages are not relevant to the test because they relate to fees for things like VIP club access, premier parking, or lawn chair rentals. Live Nation told the court, “These products are not primary concert tickets, are sold separately from tickets, and are not part of the ticketing service markets at issue in this trial; they have no relevance to the parties’ claims and defenses.”
Live Nation: Messages “could infuriate a jury”
Live Nation stated that the sole purpose of using the exhibits as evidence “is to portray the defendants in an unflattering light and to inflame the jury against the defendants,” and that the exhibits “will confuse and mislead the jury, invite unfairly emotionally based decisions, and cause unfair prejudice to the defendants.” The company also asked the court to prevent the plaintiffs “from interrogating Ben Baker or any other witness about the substance of these demonstrations or similar communications related to ancillary, fan-facing products and services that do not stand up to the markets and claims being tested.”
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