In its lawsuit accusing Dwell Nation Leisure, the live performance behemoth that owns Ticketmaster, of being an unlawful monopoly, the Justice Division drew on a raft of inner communications that provided a uncommon behind-the-scenes take a look at the trade.
The Justice Division argued in an in depth grievance filed on Thursday that the merger of Dwell Nation and Ticketmaster, which went via in 2010, had damage competitors, hindered innovation and resulted in greater ticket costs and costs for customers. It referred to as for the corporate to be damaged up.
In response, Dwell Nation, which can be the world’s largest live performance promoter, has mentioned that it’s not a monopoly, and denied that it has the unilateral energy to lift costs. Opposite to the federal government’s argument about its nice energy, Dwell Nation says it now faces extra competitors than ever, and that the Justice Division’s swimsuit “received’t scale back ticket costs or service charges.”
Detailing its allegations, the federal government relied on eye-opening emails that it says have been written by Dwell 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 guts of the Justice Division’s allegations that Dwell Nation went to excessive lengths to guard its aggressive edge.
Late that yr, the federal government says, Dwell Nation “threatened industrial retaliation” towards 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 Dwell Nation.
In accordance 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 Dwell Nation was “not pleased.” Rapino then informed Silver Lake he was “all in” with Oak View Group, “the place the massive play lies with venues — why insult me with this funding in ticketing/promotions and so forth.”
TEG had organized a deal to promote some tickets via StubHub. In accordance with the grievance, Dwell Nation sought to “frustrate” TEG by blocking these tickets, and consequently “tons of of StubHub’s clients have been refused entry to the occasion.”
Dwell 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 informed Rapino he would demand that Silver Lake promote TEG, and Rapino replied, “Love ya.” In accordance with the grievance, Silver Lake sought to promote TEG — and provided it to Dwell Nation.
In a detailed response to the Justice Division’s lawsuit, Dan Wall, Dwell Nation’s govt vp of company and regulatory affairs, mentioned the declare that Dwell Nation had threatened Silver Lake “reveals not solely a disregard for the information, but additionally deep hypocrisy.”
Rapino’s grievance, Wall mentioned, was “basically the identical” as a priority by each the Justice Division and the Federal Commerce Fee over “non-public fairness firms making a number of investments in the identical trade due to aggressive ‘entanglements.’”
In a separate assertion concerning the live performance on the L.A. Coliseum, Dwell Nation mentioned: “The one factor that we did was frustrate TEG’s efforts to place tickets straight on the secondary market in violation of our unique rights over main tickets.” Silver Lake didn’t reply to a request for remark.
A competitor turned ‘hammer’
Dwell Nation, the federal government says, initially seen Oak View Group as considered one of its “Largest Competitor Threats.” However quickly the businesses “colluded,” the federal government says, to “keep away from competing with one another, and chart a mutually useful marketing strategy to cement Dwell Nation’s dominance.”
Oak View Group, the federal government says, operated as an “agent” for Dwell Nation, even calling itself a “pimp” and a “hammer” for the bigger firm, generally delivering threats on behalf of Dwell Nation to venues that have been contemplating dropping Ticketmaster for an additional ticket supplier.
The federal government’s grievance quotes from what it says are emails from 2016 through which Rapino complains to Oak View Group executives about their intention to advertise reveals with an artist that Dwell Nation works with. Oak View Group backs down, with the corporate’s chief govt — who shouldn’t be recognized within the grievance, however is Timothy Leiweke — saying: “Our guys acquired a bit forward. All know we don’t promote and we solely do excursions with Dwell Nation.”
Wall, the Dwell 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 considered one of 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 Middle
In early 2023, The New York Instances broke the information that Barclays Middle, 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 trade, and led to questions on whether or not Dwell Nation had denied the venue entry to Dwell Nation’s greatest excursions as retaliation for switching from Ticketmaster to SeatGeek. Dwell Nation denied that on the time, and a assessment of live performance knowledge by The Instances was inconclusive. The variety of Dwell 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 swimsuit, however Wall confirmed it in a convention name with buyers late Thursday. The federal government quotes from an e-mail that it says was despatched to the venue’s chief govt from “a senior Dwell 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 an even bigger sponsorship verify,” including a “wink” emoji.
In accordance with the federal government, Dwell Nation “adopted via on its threats, re-routing concert events to different venues.”
In response, Dwell Nation mentioned, “We categorically deny that any concert events have been rerouted to retaliate towards their determination to go to SeatGeek.”
Shopping for rival firms
The federal government argues that Dwell Nation has acquired numerous firms with an intention to eradicate rivals in each live performance promotion and ticketing.
Among the many examples the federal government cites are United Concert events in Utah, which used a regional ticketing firm referred to as SmithsTix. In accordance with the what the federal government says have been inner communications at Dwell Nation, the corporate wished a better 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, Dwell Nation purchased United Concert events in 2017 and transformed its venues to Ticketmaster; SmithsTix, it mentioned, in the end went out of enterprise.
One other is AC Leisure in Tennessee, which had performed a component within the Bonnaroo competition there. Dwell Nation took a controlling stake within the firm in 2016. A Dwell Nation govt seen the economics of the deal as “not tremendous thrilling,” however referred to as it “a defensive transfer” towards AEG, in line with the grievance. In 2018, Dwell Nation purchased Frank Productions, a promoter in Wisconsin that used ticketers apart from Ticketmaster; Dwell 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 wished to retire. “Dwell Nation didn’t have a Knoxville workplace, so for $15 million it made the deal,” Wall wrote. “Significantly? The DOJ is difficult that?”
