Ticketing employees at Live Nation joked about trying to “gouge” people for parking and V.I.P. upgrades at concerts, calling fans “so stupid” for paying the inflated charges and boasting that they were “robbing them blind baby,” according to internal messages released late Wednesday.
The comments, made in a series of private exchanges between two Live Nation employees on Slack, the online messaging system, are exhibits in the Justice Department’s antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation, the concert giant that includes Ticketmaster. In that case, filed almost two years ago, the federal government was joined by attorneys general from 39 states and the District of Columbia, asserting that the company illegally maintained a monopoly in the live entertainment industry that resulted in higher ticket prices for consumers and stifled innovation and competition.
Live Nation had argued that the exchanges should be excluded from the evidence in the trial, saying they were “irrelevant” private remarks between two friends at the company that reflected “off-the-cuff banter, not policy, decision-making or facts of consequence” to the case.
The government countered that the exhibits undercut Live Nation’s narrative of excellence and customer service, which the company made in its opening statement this month. The Slack exchanges, a Justice Department lawyer wrote, “provide a candid, contemporaneous look into how they view the prices that Live Nation charges fans for ancillary services at their respective venues.”
The judge overseeing the case, Arun Subramanian, ordered the documents released in full, after a request filed jointly this week by Bloomberg News, The New York Times and MLex, a publication that covers legal and regulatory matters. The trial is on pause following a surprise settlement between Live Nation and the Justice Department that was announced on Monday; state attorneys general who did not accept the settlement are preparing their own case.
In a series of exchanges from late 2021 to early 2023, the two employees, Ben Baker and Jeff Weinhold — whose jobs involved handling tickets at Live Nation venues in Florida and Virginia — discussed ticketing and other details about various shows, and complained about internal matters like company spreadsheets.
The messages also referred to the “ancillary” fees concertgoers paid for services like parking and V.I.P. seating upgrades. The two men bragged in sometimes boorish terms about how much they charge customers for those services.
For a Kid Rock show at an amphitheater in Tampa, Fla., in 2022, the men posted a pricing chart labeled “VIP Club Admission,” with a top price of $199.
“These people are so stupid,” wrote Mr. Baker, who worked for Live Nation in Florida.
Mr. Weinhold, whose job involved overseeing ticketing at an amphitheater in Virginia, responded, “I have VIP parking up to $250 lol.”
Mr. Baker replied, “I almost feel bad taking advantage of them.”
In another exchange from 2022, they discussed a financial table showing the annual growth of “premier parking” at an unspecified venue, topping off at $666,000 in 2021.
“Robbing them blind baby,” Mr. Baker wrote. “That’s how we do.”
Later in that same chain, they discussed the base prices charged for seats at their shows. Mr. Baker added, “I gouge them on ancil prices to make up for it,” and Mr. Weinhold responded, “Preferred Seating baby,” referring to the premium pricing sometimes charged for the most desirable seats at a venue.
In a statement, Live Nation said the exchange was between “one junior staffer to a friend” and said it “absolutely doesn’t reflect our values or how we operate.”
“Because this was a private Slack message,” the company added, “leadership learned of this when the public did, and will be looking into the matter promptly.”
At the time those messages were sent, Mr. Baker and Mr. Weinhold were regional ticketing directors for the company. According to the government’s filing, Mr. Baker’s most recent title is head of ticketing for Venue Nation, a division of the company that includes its amphitheaters, and Mr. Weinhold’s is senior ticketing director in the area around Washington.
Among the terms of the proposed settlement between Live Nation and the Justice Department, which must be approved by Judge Subramanian, Live Nation would allow venues to use multiple ticketing systems — a concession, since Ticketmaster has long maintained strict exclusive deals. The company also said it would rescind a policy demanding that artists use the company’s promotion services to play in the amphitheaters it controls.
The judge has urged the states that did not accept the settlement to reach their own agreement with Live Nation, or else prepare to continue the trial, with the same jury, on Monday.
This is not the first time that internal documents from Live Nation show employees’ candid admissions of high fees. For a 2016 amphitheater concert in Nashville, Ticketmaster added a $14.75 fee on top of a $36 ticket; in an internal email that was disclosed during an earlier lawsuit, Michael Rapino, Live Nation’s chief executive, called that fee “not defendable.”
Ben Sisario, a reporter covering music and the music industry, has been writing for The Times for more than 20 years.
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