Live Nation employees joked about “robbing” ticket buyers, report claims

Messages between Live Nation employees allegedly show them joking about “robbing” ticket buyers and saying, “These people are so stupid,” in reference to customers paying a high fee for VIP admission to a 2022 Kid Rock show.

The messages have been released following an antitrust lawsuit that Joe Biden’s Department Of Justice filed against Live Nation and Ticketmaster in 2024. A settlement has been reached, but internal messaging on Slack between two employees in senior roles has been released.

The New York Times reports [via Stereogum], that these messages occurred from late 2021 to early 2023 between two employees who, at the time, were in regional ticketing director roles for Live Nation venues over in the US.

Other messages regarded premium parking prices, with the employees allegedly sending messages such as “I almost feel bad taking advantage of them”, “I have VIP parking up to $250 lol”, and “robbing them blind baby”.

Live Nation has allegedly claimed the messages are “irrelevant”, and that they were “off-the-cuff banter” between friends and “not policy, decision-making or facts of consequence.” It also claims that because the messages were private, it has learned of them at the same time as the public, and will be looking into the matter.

A Justice Department lawyer, however, claims they “provide a candid, contemporaneous look into how they view the prices that Live Nation charges fans for ancillary services at their respective venues”. MusicTech has reached out to Live Nation for comment.

Live Nation’s settlement deal with the US Department of Justice means Ticketmaster (which it merged with in 2010) will be required to open parts of its platform to rival companies such as Eventbrite and SeatGeek, while long-term exclusivity contracts with venues will be capped at four years.

Live Nation will also divest up to 13 amphitheaters across the country and cap Ticketmaster service fees at 15 percent of a ticket’s price. The deal will also require Live Nation to pay roughly $280 million in damages to nearly 40 states that joined the lawsuit. Even so, the settlement represents a far less severe outcome than the government’s original proposal, which sought to break up the company.

Speaking of the settlement, Live Nation president and CEO Michael Rapino said: “We have never relied on exclusivity to drive our ticketing business, it has simply been the result of having the best products, services and people in the industry. We are happy to take greater steps to empower artists and venues in their ticketing decisions, and are confident we will continue to succeed on the quality of what we deliver.”

MusicTech has reached out to Live Nation for comment.

Rachel is a DIY musician who began learning guitar and keyboard from her bedroom at 14. She has written news and features for MusicTech since 2022, and also has bylines across Kerrang!, Guitar.com, and The Forty-Five. Though a lover of heavy music, her guilty pleasure is 2000s pop.