The Live Nation-Ticketmaster trial has started again. Dozens of states are expected to move forward with their claims against the company’s alleged concert industry monopoly starting Monday after a brief hearing Friday.
The Justice Department and some states have accepted settlements with the company, but most of the 40 state and district attorneys general plaintiffs — so far — are continuing their fight in court. States that had pressed for a mistrial filed after the DOJ announced the settlement in court on Monday withdrew their motion, and came up with new outside counsel to lead their trial team in the absence of the federal plaintiffs. The judge also said jurors would be allowed to see internal chats between Live Nation employees who bragged about “wooing” fans, overruling the company’s protest.
In a hearing lasting less than an hour on Friday, Judge Arun Subramaniam – looking more cheerful than earlier this week when he scolded lawyers for failing to inform him about the impending settlement earlier – sorted through the trial logistics and issued orders on the demonstrations. Jonathan Hatch, co-lead counsel for the states, said that in taking over the case, the now-defunct DOJ trial team continued to work to transfer information the states would need in the proceedings. But there are still some items left in the DOJ database that haven’t been transferred yet, he said. At the judge’s request, the DOJ agreed to ensure that access would not be cut off until the states and their counsel received everything they needed.
Arkansas, Iowa, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and South Dakota have all either signed an agreement with Live Nation similar to the DOJ, or are close to doing so. South Carolina is continuing negotiations with the company, and litigation may continue unless the state reaches a settlement on its monetary demands before then. An attorney speaking on behalf of these states said South Carolina has reached an agreement in principle on the updated injunction terms of the agreement, although it is not clear what they are. That leaves more than 30 state AGs still involved in the litigation, unless things change before Monday.
The trial is expected to gain momentum with testimony from AEG COO Jay Marciano, who was the last witness to be questioned by DOJ trial counsel in the case. Marciano had only completed half of his testimony when court adjourned for the day, so the state will likely need to refresh jurors’ memories after their new trial team introduces itself. AEG Live Nation is a competitor to Ticketmaster and a similarly integrated ticketing and live event promotion business.
After the company sought to have them thrown out, the judge allowed several exhibits containing Slack messages between Live Nation employees to be shown to the jury. The messages emerged this week after a judge unsealed them following a request from a group of media outlets.
“The messages included two then-regional directors… boasting about how they saddled fans with accessory costs”
The 2022 messages included two then-regional directors for ticketing at the company’s amphitheaters boasting about how they “hurt” fans with ancillary costs like parking or VIP access, and ridiculing fans as “idiots” and saying Live Nation was “robbing them blind.” Live Nation spokeswoman Emily Wofford described the exchange as “one from junior employee to friend” and said it “absolutely does not reflect our values or the way we work.” However, in the brief opposing the motion to exclude the chats, the plaintiffs say that these “junior” employees now hold key positions at the company: one is the head of ticketing for the branch of Live Nation that operates its amphitheatres, and the other is the senior director of ticketing for Live Nation’s Capital Region.
“Because this was a private Slack message, leadership became aware of this when the public became aware and will look into this matter immediately,” Wofford said in a statement. “Our business only works when fans have a great experience, which is why we’ve capped amphitheater venue fees at 15% and invested $1 billion in U.S. venues and fan amenities over the last 18 months.”
Live Nation had sought to prevent the exhibits from being shown to the jury, with its lawyers arguing that they were merely “informal Slack messages” without relevance to the case. Government lawyers argued that the messages represent “clear, internal messages” that contradict the company’s claim that it invested in amphitheaters to give fans and artists a good option for watching a concert. The judge agreed that Live Nation “opened the door” to such evidence by highlighting the quality of fans’ experiences at its venues in its opening statement.
In any case, the show will start from Monday morning.
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