A new Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator report says taxpayers have spent at least $420 million to benefit Live Nation, and that 30 of the company's 64 large U.S. amphitheaters and stadiums (47%) are government-owned. Both numbers are already circulating. Multiple news outlets ran them within days of the September release.

The paper, "Sold Out: How State and Local Governments Pay for Live Nation's Monopoly," is built on a misunderstood insight — Live Nation doesn’t own all the venues in its portfolio — some sit on public land under public leases, and some of those leases are lopsided.

That is not a scandal — many public buildings are under private management, especially concert venues, sports venues and convention centers. Furthermore, the 53-page report from Vanderbilt relies on heavily inflated numbers, and according to AI models deployed by Decibel News to analyze the report, make a number of mistakes and incorrect assumptions.

Roughly two-thirds of the $420 million cited in the report comes from entries with clear problems. The single largest item, $135 million in Riverside, Missouri, is mostly Live Nation's own money. Several of the 30 "government-owned" venues aren't operated by Live Nation at all (they’re managed by other companies and booked by LN).

“This is not a credible report,” a Live Nation spokesperson told Decibel. “It is a poorly researched and one-sided advocacy piece backed by independent venues who don't want to compete against new and renovated venues regardless of the benefits to fans and communities. State and local governments invest in live entertainment because venues are economic engines that bring artists, fans, jobs and spending to their communities. Our amphitheaters generate an estimated $5.8 billion in local economic activity and $800 million in municipal taxes each year, while supporting nearly 48,000 jobs. And over the last decade, we’ve invested more than $825 million of our own funds improving these venues.”