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Oliver Buchannon
Dave Brooks

Dave Brooks is a veteran news reporting covering the music industry and the touring business. He previously served as a senior director for touring at Billboard.

News

Stone Church v. StubHub: The Lawsuit That Reads Like a Screenshot-by-Screenshot Takedown

Aug 12, 2026

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4 min read

Stone Church v. StubHub: The Lawsuit That Reads Like a Screenshot-by-Screenshot Takedown

A Vermont music venue's false-advertising suit lands the same week Sacramento lawmakers rally against ticket scalping — and StubHub is the common thread in both.

Dave Brooks
Dave Brooks

News

UCLA’s Big Ten Future May Depend on Choosing Between the Rose Bowl and SoFi Stadium
LockSimple

Aug 12, 2026

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5 min read

UCLA’s Big Ten Future May Depend on Choosing Between the Rose Bowl and SoFi Stadium

The Rose Bowl offers history, identity and one of college football’s most recognizable settings. SoFi offers modern amenities, new revenue and a location closer to campus. UCLA’s challenge is determining which venue gives the Bruins the best chance to compete—and whether they can legally make the switch.

Dave Brooks
Dave Brooks
How to Land Your Client on a Magazine Cover

Aug 7, 2026

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4 min read

How to Land Your Client on a Magazine Cover

Landing a high-profile magazine cover remains a long shot—but an honest assessment of your client, smart timing and a willingness to play the long game can dramatically improve the odds.

Dave Brooks
Dave Brooks

News

The Last Cover Story: How the Decline of Music Media Can Be Traced Through One Dying Format

Aug 7, 2026

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4 min read

The Last Cover Story: How the Decline of Music Media Can Be Traced Through One Dying Format

Hint: It's mostly the publicists fault...

Dave Brooks
Dave Brooks

News

Live Nation Asks Judge to Dismantle Antitrust Verdict

Aug 7, 2026

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4 min read

Live Nation Asks Judge to Dismantle Antitrust Verdict

New 11-page filing says the states failed to define key markets, prove artist coercion or establish that Ticketmaster forced venues into exclusive contracts

Dave Brooks
Dave Brooks

News

Top Ten Underserved International Live Music Markets

Aug 7, 2026

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7 min read

Top Ten Underserved International Live Music Markets

This month we scour the globe to find ten international hot spots not being serviced by promoters, booking agents or venues

Dave Brooks
Dave Brooks

News

Live Nation’s Record Quarter Offers More Evidence That “Blue-Dot Fever” Isn’t Real

Jul 31, 2026

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4 min read

Live Nation’s Record Quarter Offers More Evidence That “Blue-Dot Fever” Isn’t Real

Despite months of anxiety over sluggish ticket sales, undersold shows and disappearing seats, Live Nation’s second-quarter results show that concert demand is not collapsing—it is accelerating.

Dave Brooks
Dave Brooks

News

The Top 20 Underserved Music Markets in the US

Jul 30, 2026

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10 min read

The Top 20 Underserved Music Markets in the US

Identifying the opportunities for live music in the new decade

Dave Brooks
Dave Brooks
How We Created the Underserved Live Music Markets List

Jul 30, 2026

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3 min read

How We Created the Underserved Live Music Markets List

Creating a market deficit scoring model for live music by quantifying unmet demand.

Dave Brooks
Dave Brooks

News

StubHub CEO's Secret Hedge Fund Helped Finance Millions of Dollars Worth of Tickets From Three Baseball Teams

Jul 28, 2026

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4 min read

StubHub CEO's Secret Hedge Fund Helped Finance Millions of Dollars Worth of Tickets From Three Baseball Teams

Eric Baker's Andro Capital bought tickets directly from MLB teams and resold them on StubHub and rival platforms

Dave Brooks
Dave Brooks

News

States Seek to Probe White House Role in Live Nation Antitrust Settlement

Jul 28, 2026

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4 min read

States Seek to Probe White House Role in Live Nation Antitrust Settlement

DOJ and Live Nation are fighting an effort by state attorneys general to obtain records about the government's deal with the concert giant, including how its ticketing remedies were designed and whether outside political officials influenced the agreement.

Dave Brooks
Dave Brooks

News

Police Vow to Solve Electric Forest Newborn Death as Investigation Continues

Jul 27, 2026

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2 min read

Police Vow to Solve Electric Forest Newborn Death as Investigation Continues

Billboard's Katie Bain details the new forensic and video evidence Michigan State Police have begun collecting after an infant was found dead at the festival

Dave Brooks
Dave Brooks

News

Providence Equity Nears $3.4 Billion Deal to Buy Out Casey Wasserman

Jul 24, 2026

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3 min read

Providence Equity Nears $3.4 Billion Deal to Buy Out Casey Wasserman

Matt Belloni of Puck reports that the private equity firm already controlling Wasserman’s agency is finalizing a deal to acquire the founder’s remaining stake

Dave Brooks
Dave Brooks

News

Lizzo's Streamer University Appearance Shows Just How Much the Entertainment Hierarchy Has Changed

Jul 21, 2026

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3 min read

Lizzo's Streamer University Appearance Shows Just How Much the Entertainment Hierarchy Has Changed

Streaming and online media has changed the way we view celebrity in the Twitch era

Dave Brooks
Dave Brooks

News

Madison Square Garden Sues Wired Over 'Gay Celebrities' Story, Escalating Fight Over Hacked Data and Press Freedom

Jul 19, 2026

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5 min read

Madison Square Garden Sues Wired Over 'Gay Celebrities' Story, Escalating Fight Over Hacked Data and Press Freedom

Dave Brooks
Dave Brooks

News

The Live Nation Case Is Winding Down. The Government Shouldn't Stop There.

Jul 17, 2026

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7 min read

The Live Nation Case Is Winding Down. The Government Shouldn't Stop There.

Here are the DOJ's next five targets for rooting out corruption in the music industry

Dave Brooks
Dave Brooks

News

States Say They Were Kept in the Dark on the Live Nation Settlement — Now They Want Discovery

Jul 16, 2026

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3 min read

States Say They Were Kept in the Dark on the Live Nation Settlement — Now They Want Discovery

A year of undisclosed negotiations, White House Counsel contacts, and a DOJ trial lawyer blindsided by his own client's deal.

Dave Brooks
Dave Brooks

News

Helping Billboard Get Over The Finish Line With Their Story on Jay-Z's Concert at Yankee Stadium

Jul 16, 2026

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3 min read

Helping Billboard Get Over The Finish Line With Their Story on Jay-Z's Concert at Yankee Stadium

Dave breaks down how NYC laws handle noise and curfews

Dave Brooks
Dave Brooks
FOIL Request to NYPD

Jul 15, 2026

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1 min read

FOIL Request to NYPD

Dave Brooks
Dave Brooks

The Offer

The StubHub Story Keeps Getting Worse For CEO Eric Baker

Jul 15, 2026

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14 min read

The StubHub Story Keeps Getting Worse For CEO Eric Baker

+ The Demise of Pitchfork Festival Shows Why Media Companies Need to Get Out of the Festival Business

Dave Brooks
Dave Brooks

News

The Demise of Pitchfork Festival Shows Why Media Companies Need to Get Out of the Festival Business

Jul 15, 2026

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7 min read

The Demise of Pitchfork Festival Shows Why Media Companies Need to Get Out of the Festival Business

Dave Brooks
Dave Brooks

News

The StubHub Story Keeps Getting Worse

Jul 15, 2026

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4 min read

The StubHub Story Keeps Getting Worse

StubHub CEO's Resale Business Draws Conflict-of-Interest Questions

Dave Brooks
Dave Brooks

Live Nation On Trial

Live Nation's Final Post-Trial Briefs Ask Judge to Overturn Landmark Monopoly Verdict

Jul 8, 2026

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3 min read

Live Nation's Final Post-Trial Briefs Ask Judge to Overturn Landmark Monopoly Verdict

Company's post trial motions hints at the company's strategy for filing an appeal

Dave Brooks
Dave Brooks
StubHub's World Cup Reckoning: How Deep Is the Legal Exposure?

Jul 7, 2026

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6 min read

StubHub's World Cup Reckoning: How Deep Is the Legal Exposure?

Dave Brooks
Dave Brooks

Live Nation On Trial

DOJ Files Competitive Impact Statement, Laying Out Case for Live Nation Settlement

Jun 30, 2026

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4 min read

DOJ Files Competitive Impact Statement, Laying Out Case for Live Nation Settlement

The agreement DOJ is asking Judge Subramanian to bless was negotiated before a jury found Live Nation liable on every count. Now it faces a public-interest review complicated by a state AG win seeking a breakup, and fresh disclosures that Live Nation's CEO spoke with Trump weeks before the deal was struck.

Dave Brooks
Dave Brooks
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