Newly revealed internal communications show a pair of executives at entertainment venue giant Live Nation laughing about how much they are able to gouge people for concert tickets.
"In a series of chats from 2022, Ben Baker and Jeff Weinhold, two regional directors of ticketing for Live Nation amphitheaters, boasted about their ability to raise so-called 'ancillary fees' – like parking, lawn chair rentals and VIP access – and still get concertgoers to pay for them," reported Bloomber News. "In one exchange, Weinhold gloated about raising VIP parking costs at a Virginia concert venue to $250. 'These people are so stupid. I almost feel bad taking advantage of them,' Baker wrote, adding later, 'I gouge them on ancil prices.' In another exchange, he bragged about charging '$50 to park in the grass' and '$60 for closer grass.'"
“Robbing them blind, baby, that’s how we do it,” Baker wrote.
In a statement provided to Raw Story, Live Nation disavowed these remarks.
"The Slack exchange from one junior staffer to a friend absolutely doesn't reflect our values or how we operate," said the statement. "Because this was a private Slack message, leadership learned of this when the public did, and will be looking into the matter promptly. Our business only works when fans have great experiences, which is why we've capped amphitheater venue fees at 15% and have invested $1 billion in the last 18 months into U.S. venues and fan amenities."
Live Nation has been accused in a series of lawsuits of holding a monopoly over venues, that squeezes both performers and ticketholders alike — resulting in people being charged hundreds or thousands of dollars more than reasonable to see concerts, shows, and performances around the country. They also own the booking platform Ticketmaster, which has infamously hiked booking fees to higher and higher levels over the years, and can often be the only way to book tickets for Live Nation owned venues. The fiasco surrounding tickets for Taylor Swift's Eras Tour brought many of these issues into national focus.
The company has also been accused in litigation of stonewalling congressional investigators.
This comes as the Trump administration Justice Department's antitrust division reached a settlement with Live Nation, which requires them to pay $200 million to several states, allow third-party sellers access to Ticketmaster, limit their exclusivity agreements, divest 10 of its amphitheaters, and cap service fees for amphitheater tickets to 15 percent of ticket price.
This settlement has been rejected by over two dozen state attorneys general as inadequate to resolve Live Nation's monopoly power, since it doesn't require Ticketmaster to be divested altogether, and state-level litigation is expected to continue.