A trove of Slack messages between two guys working Live Nation have been released by the DOJ and they have become a major headache for people working at the company.
The messages are part of an ongoing conversation between two Ticketmaster employees — Ben Baker, head of Ticketing for Venue Nation, and Jeff Weinhold, senior director of ticketing at Live Nation — that took place in the early morning hours of Jan. 28, 2022, and continued on for weeks.
DOJ attorney Bonny Sweeney had shared a redacted version of the Slack messages in a March 9 motion opposing an effort by Live Nation to exclude the messages from being used during its trial. That motion was filed on the same day Sweeney’s bosses at the DOJ announced that they had reached a settlement with Live Nation. On Wednesday, Sweeney reposted the Slack messages with the redactions removed after an attorney working for Bloomberg and the New York Times requested the messages be shared unredacted.
In the messages, Baker and Weinhold discussed an August 26 Kid Rock and Foreigner concert booked at Jiffy Lube Live. The language used in the men’s conversation will likely ignite a massive scandal for Live Nation just days after announcing it had reached a settlement with the Department of Justice in its two-year-long antitrust probe.
“The Slack exchange from one junior staffer to a friend absolutely doesn't reflect our values or how we operate,” Live Nation told Decibel in a 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.”
The conversation begins with Baker posting a picture of an event report from a June 11, 2022 Kid Rock concert at the MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheater in Tampa, Florida and then writing “fucking outrageous”
Weinhold: jesus
Baker: these people are so fucking stupid
Weinhold: i have VIP parking up to $250 lol
Baker: I almost feel bad taking advantage of them
BAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Weinhold: i just raised club to $125
Baker: I wonder if I can get $225
Weinhold: haha
Baker: I’m gonna try it
Weinhold: sure why not
Baker: $250 for Parking
jesus christ
Weinhold: i mean for real lol
for one parking spot lol
Baker: tift’s gonna be a wreck
Weinhold: shes always a wreck I mean you cant possibly check another venue MPE
The men chat on Slack for several hours, discussing platinum tickets and artist holds for an upcoming Luke Bryan concert run, ticket counts for several Bob Dylan concerts and a sales report for a Joe Rogan appearance at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth.
Later on in the conversation, Weinhold tells Baker that he’s “up to 1,700 allocated platinum for Kid Rock lol” meaning he’s moved a large number of tickets to the company’s premium pricing tier, where tickets often sell for more than $1,000 apiece.
“You whore,” Weinhold replies.
Later, Baker tells Weinhold “fucking some scumbag broker out of NY gobbled my ADA for Kid Rock.” ADA refers to the Americans with Disabilities Act, ie tickets held for people who are disabled and require a wheelchair.
“Normally I’d look the other way but the dumbass listed them on TM+”
Weinhold responded, “yeah if they listed right away, cancel them,” adding “that’s annoying AF.”
Baker later asks “how is your kid rock only getting a 63% lift” meaning why is Weinhold only marking up Kid Rock tickets 63% when designating them as platinum tickets.
“fucking plat team,” Weinhold replies, “I gave them another 100 today.”
“They sold some of my lowest PL (tickets),” Baker said, priced at $48.50 and sold for $117.50.
“I stole more KR VIP than what they said to…oh well.” Weinhold replied.
Baker topped him moments later.
“We sold $1,230 front row platinum and $1,313 third row.”
In total, the Department of Justice released seven different documents detailing exchanges between the two, spanning dozens of pages.
“VIP parking was supposed to be $75,” Weinhold wrote on Jan. 12. “We now start at $100.”
Baker, again, was ready to top him: “$100 for oversize which doesnt give you any benefits,” he noted, “and you still have to walk 3/4s of a mile.”
“Krai,” Weinhold responded.
“Robbing them blind baby,” Baker said. “That’s how we do.”
This is a developing story. Stay tuned to Decibel News for updates.
