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Jeff Jackson.N.C. State Attorney
Phone Call With John Abbamondi (AI image)
Today’s song of the day is the
The three big stories that defined the Live Nation Story arc are -- a) the decision by North Carolina state Attorney General Jeff Jackson and others to press ahead USA vs Live Nation, the sprawling antitrust lawsuit that filed by the DOJ and now being fought by the states and lead litigator Jeffrey Kessler; b) evidence released to the public thanks to legal filings made to the court by Inner City Press attorney and citizen journalist Matthew Lee, whose fought to unredact internal communications at Live Nation led to the release of embarrassing Slack messages written by mid-level employees and c) a leaked recorded phone call between Barclays Center VP John Abbamondi and Live Nation boss Michael Rapino that felt a lot more like entrapment than a smoking gun.
Why Does Every Live Nation Story Wind Up Feeling Like A Conspiracy Theory?
Tuned in to the Decibel and Docket podcast to hear our legal guests and industry experts break down the ins and outs of this sprawling legal story.
a
States Get Their Turn
There was one person not happy with how the deal got finalized — Judge Arun Subramanian. When learned the deal had been worked out days earlier and ordered both sides to return to court the following day and atone for the sin of wasting his time. He even ordered Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino to prepare to testify under oath, although it would end up being Live Nation’s legal eagle Dan Wall who would feel Subramanian’s wrath
Subramanian would famously snap at Wall after the former Latham Watkins partner said there was “a zero percent chance” that court-ordered settlement talks between the concert promoters and 41 states attorneys general would bear fruit. Ofcourse Wall was right and the company is now preparing to go to trial against lawyers like Jeff Jackson, which I discuss on the Decibel And Docket podcast with my cohost and attorney friend Michael Seville. Click the link below to check out our segment on Jeff Jackson’s declaration of legal warfare on Live Nation (link will open up Spotify).
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Matthew Lee with Inner City Press is the unsung hero of the Live Nation trial. His motions for the release of heavily redacted evidentiary files has brought new found transparency to the landmark antitrust case. Check out the podcast I recorded with him earlier this week and again, please subscribe to Decibel and Docket. It’s the best way to support the work I do.
Live Nation’s Slack Scandal
Randy Nichols and Dave Brooks break down the ins and outs of the Slack Scandal here on a special Friday edition of the show.
