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MELBOURNE, Australia — Veteran live entertainment professional Meagan (Meg) Walker will join ASM Global (APAC) later this year as group director of arena operations.
Effective Oct. 10, ASM Global will join the venues management specialist from Live Nation, with responsibilities for the company’s arena network in Australia while supporting other arena venues in the region, reads a statement, with a focus on event acquisition, operational planning for best practice patron experience and event delivery.
Walker’s resume includes senior management roles with some of Australia’s most successful venues including Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena, Margaret Court Arena, John Cain Arena and Palais Theatre.
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In her new role, Walker replaces Tim Worton, who announced his retirement earlier this year.
“The depth and scale of Meg’s experience in the operation of major events and live entertainment is the perfect fit to lead our portfolio of world class arenas, frequently featured in Billboard, Pollstar and Rolling Stone,” ASM APAC chairman and CEO Harvey Lister says.“Both Meg Walker and Tim Worton have long been recognized as legends in the industry and we are so fortunate to be the recipients of their expertise and professionalism as part of our management team.“Meg has proven to be an accomplished event professional with strategic and collaborative leadership skills.”
One of Walker’s great talents, says Lister, is the ability to mentor the next generation of aspiring venue managers, which will be a key part of her role to support the company’s continuing growth.
The company is currently enjoying “exponential growth and development” for its portfolio of entertainment venues in Australia, the Asia Pacific and MENA regions. Worldwide, ASM Global operates over 400 venues on five continents.
“I look forward to contributing to the ongoing strong performance and growth of the ASM Global portfolio by collaborating with all stakeholders and supporting the team to achieve their personal and professional goals,” adds Walker, “while ensuring ASM arenas maintain their world’s best practice reputation.”
Worton, meanwhile, is leaving the live entertainment industry for a new career path. As previously reported, he will step away from ASM Global at year’s end, at which time he will enter 12 months’ full-time studies at Moore Theological College in Sydney. When completed, Worton will endeavor to work in a pastoral, chaplaincy or ministry role.
Sydney-based Worton has logged 33 years in the entertainment business, including 25 years with ASM Global (previously AEG Ogden). For the past 19 years, he has served as the venues and event management specialist’s group director of arenas for APAC. Worton will work with Walker during the transition.
SiriusXM signed a multi-year agreement with podcast star Alex Cooper that will give the company exclusive advertising and distribution rights to Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast as well as other titles under Unwell Audio Network, a production house she founded in 2023. Cooper became a leading Gen Z media figure when Call Her Daddy launched […]
This is The Legal Beat, a weekly newsletter about music law from Billboard Pro, offering you a one-stop cheat sheet of big new cases, important rulings and all the fun stuff in between.
This week: Taylor Swift’s legal options after Donald Trump falsely claims she endorsed him; a guilty plea for YoungBoy Never Broke Again on a federal gun charge; Mariah Carey’s arguments to dismiss a copyright case over “All I Want For Christmas”; and much more.
THE BIG STORY: Will Taylor Protect Her … Reputation?
When Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump posted AI-generated images to social media that falsely suggested Taylor Swift had endorsed him, many Swifties and Democrats asked the same question all at once: Can she sue him? After all, Taylor is no MAGA fan. In 2020, she urged her legions of fans to vote Trump out of office, blasting him for “stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism” and endorsing then-candidate Joe Biden. The superstar hasn’t endorsed anybody yet in 2024, but you can be pretty certain that it’s not going to be Trump. But there it was: an AI-generated image of Swift herself, dressed up as Uncle Sam in the style of a World War II-era recruiting poster, bearing a clear message: “Taylor wants you to vote for Donald Trump.” At the top of the post, Trump himself responded to the apparent endorsement: “I accept!” Can Taylor file a lawsuit? On what grounds? And should she do so? Go read our full story here to find out.
Other top stories this week…
YOUNGBOY GUILTY PLEA – YoungBoy Never Broke Again (aka NBA YoungBoy) notified a judge that he would plead guilty to a federal gun charge that has seen him held under house arrest for more than two years while awaiting trial. But the deal won’t resolve dozens of newer charges in Utah over claims that he ran a “large scale prescription fraud ring” while living under house arrest. CLASS DISMISSED – Adidas AG won a ruling tossing out a class action that claimed the company violated U.S. securities laws by failing to warn shareholders about internal offensive behavior from Ye (formerly Kanye West) before the company split with him in 2022. Though the judge said she did not condone his “erratic, inappropriate, and antisemitic” behavior and said it was “troubling” that it had happened at Adidas, she ruled that the company’s actions didn’t rise to securities fraud: “The question before this court is not whether to admonish Ye or hold Adidas morally accountable for Ye’s conduct.” SAMPLE SETTLEMENT – Elsewhere in Kanye-world, the rapper reached a settlement in a copyright lawsuit that accused him of using an uncleared sample from the pioneering rap group Boogie Down Productions in his song “Life of the Party.” The case was one of more than a dozen such cases he’s faced during his career, including a high-profile battle with the estate of Donna Summer that settled earlier this year. GRACELAND SCAM – A Missouri woman named Lisa Jeanine Findley was arrested and charged with attempting to defraud the family of Elvis Presley and steal their ownership interest in Graceland. The alleged scheme is what led to the bizarre, largely unexplained incident that saw the famed Memphis mansion seemingly put up for auction earlier this summer. NO MORE YSL TRIAL? As Young Thug’s gang trial drags on in Atlanta, a Republican challenger to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis now says she will end the case if she’s elected. In a statement, Courtney Kramer said the trial against Thug’s YSL was designed to “bring fame” to Willis rather than “bring justice to the community,” and that it’s resulted in “endless amounts of taxpayer dollars” being spent “on a prosecution that is based almost entirely on witnesses with little to no credibility.” HIPGNOSIS SUES MANILOW – Hipgnosis Song Fund filed a lawsuit against Barry Manilow in U.K. court over bonus payments relating to its acquisition of the singer’s catalog four years ago, accusing the singer of breach of contract and other wrongdoing over a deal that saw the company buy the rights to 917 songs including “Mandy,” “Looks Like We Made It” and many others. CHRISTMAS CLASH – Mariah Carey asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit claiming she stole her perennial holiday classic “All I Want for Christmas is You” from an earlier song of the same name by songwriter Vince Vance. The star’s lawyers argued that the two songs share only “an unprotectable jumble of elements,” including “a title and hook phrase used by many earlier Christmas songs,” a series of “Christmas tropes” and other rudimental elements “scattered throughout these completely different songs.” RONDO DRUG PLEA – Rapper Quando Rondo pleaded guilty to a single charge of conspiracy to possess and distribute marijuana, resolving an indictment issued in December that saddled him with more extensive charges involving conspiracy to sell methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine. State gang and drug charges are still pending against him.
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Symphonic Distribution has forged a partnership with AI attribution and license management company, Musical AI, that will allow its users to become part of a licensed dataset used in AI training. Joining the dataset is a choice that Symphonic users must opt-in to and participating artists can earn additional income for their contribution.
Musical AI’s goal is to clean up what it calls the “Wild West of AI” by providing a way to track every time an AI model uses a given song in the dataset in hopes that this will help compensate the proper copyright owner for each time their work is employed by the AI model. Symphonic is the first major rights holder to partner with Musical AI, and Musical AI’s co-founder and COO Matt Adell says his team is currently “build[ing] a new layer based on attribution and security for training AI to the benefit of all involved.”
The AI training process is one of the most contentious areas of the burgeoning tech field. To learn how to generate realistic results, generative AI models must train on millions, if not billions, of works. Often, this includes copyrighted material that the AI company has not licensed or otherwise paid for. Today, many of the world’s biggest AI companies, including ChatGPT creator OpenAI and music AI generators Suno and Udio, take the stance that ingesting this copyrighted material is a form of “fair use” and that compensation is not required. Many copyright owners, however, believe that AI companies must obtain their consent prior to using their works and that they should receive some form of compensation.
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Already, this issue has sparked major legal battles in the music business. The three major music companies — Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group and Sony Music — filed a lawsuit against Suno and Udio in June, arguing that training on their copyrights without permission or compensation was a form of widespread copyright infringement. A similar argument was made in a 2023 lawsuit filed by UMG, Concord, and ABKCO against Anthropic for allegedly using their copyrighted lyrics in training without proper licenses.
According to a spokesperson for the companies, one AI firm, who wishes to remain anonymous, has already signed up to use the Symphonic-affiliated dataset, and in the future, the dataset will likely be used by more. Artists who wish to participate can only opt-in if they totally control their own publishing and records to ensure there are no rights issues.
Licenses made between AI companies, Musical AI and Symphonic will vary, but ultimately that license will stipulate a certain percentage of revenue made will belong to rights holders represented in the dataset. Musical AI will create an attribution report that details how each song in the dataset was used by the AI company, and then AI companies will either pay out rights holders directly or through Musical AI, depending on what their deal looks like.
“Symphonic’s catalog has clear value to AI companies who need both excellent music by passionate artists and a broad representation of genres and sounds,” says Adell. “We’re thrilled to make them our first major rights holder partner.”
“We strive to make our services the most advanced in the business to support our artists. But any new technology needs to work for our artists and clients — not against them,” adds Jorge Brea, founder and CEO of Symphonic. “By partnering with Musical AI, we’re unlocking a truly sustainable approach to generative AI that honors our community.”
Ye (formerly Kanye West) has reached a settlement in a copyright lawsuit that accused him of using an uncleared sample from the pioneering rap group Boogie Down Productions in his song “Life of the Party.”
In court documents filed Monday, attorneys for both sides agreed that Ye should be dismissed from the case, with each side to pay their own legal bills. No other terms of the agreement were disclosed publicly, and neither side immediately returned requests for comment.
The Boogie Down lawsuit was one of more than a dozen such cases that have been filed against Ye over claims of unlicensed sampling or interpolating during his prolific career. The controversial rapper has faced nine such infringement cases since 2019 alone, including a high-profile battle with estate of Donna Summer that settled earlier this year.
Filed in November 2022, the current lawsuit was lodged by Phase One Network, the group that owns Boogie Down’s copyrights, over allegations that Ye had used incorporated key aspects from the 1986 song “South Bronx” into “Life of the Party,” which was released on his 2021album Donda.
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Echoing several other sampling lawsuits against Ye, Phase One claimed that the rapper’s representatives had reached out to legally clear the use of the Boogie Down song – but then released it anyway when a deal was never struck.
“The communications confirmed that ‘South Bronx’ had been incorporated into the infringing track even though West had yet to obtain such license,” Phase One’s lawyers wrote. “Despite the fact that final clearance for use of ‘South Bronx’ in the infringing track was never authorized, the infringing track was nevertheless reproduced, sold, distributed, publicly performed and exploited.”
Last summer, attorneys for Ye fought back with an unusual argument: That Boogie Down founder KRS-One had publicly promised all future rappers that “you will not get sued” over sampling the group’s catalog. They cited a 2006 documentary called The Art of 16 Bars, in which KRS-One said “I give to all MCs my entire catalogue.”
Phase One later called that a “bizarre argument,” noting that, when the documentary was made, KRS-One didn’t actually own the music he was claiming to place in the public domain: “Movants cite to no law to support such a theory. KRS-One also could not have placed the Work in the public domain as he did not own it.”
Following Monday’s agreement, Ye and his Yeezy LLC will be dropped from the lawsuit but the case will continue against other several defendants, including the company behind the Stem Player platform on which the song was allegedly released.
Warner Records has signed Madrid-based pop singer and multi-instrumentalist Rusowsky via a joint venture with Rusia IDK, an artist collective led by Rusowsky and singer-producer Ralphie Choo.
Rusowsky (real name Ruslan Mediavilla) is a well-known figure in Madrid’s alternative music scene. He started releasing music in 2019 and has since collaborated with artists including C. Tangana, DELLAFUENTE and Choo; he’s also played festivals including AXE Ceremonia, Sonar and Lollapalooza in South America. According to a press release, he’s racked up more than 115 million global streams across his catalog.
“This partnership is emblematic of Warner Records’ storied history as a home for true artists across all genres,” said Jackson Harris, manager of A&R at Warner Records, in a statement. “Rusowsky and RUSIA IDK are inspiring a musical and cultural revolution. From head-turning music to mesmerizing live performances, I’m excited for new audiences to learn about these brilliant musicians.”
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Added RUSIA IDK founder Manuel Jubera Suárez: “This is an unprecedented partnership that not only marks a before and after in the Spanish music scene, but also represents a key to enter the American market. The intention is to open new doors for Spanish music, bringing its essence and diversity to a global stage. Thanks to Aaron Bay-Schuck, Tom Corson, Jeff Sosnow and Jackson Harris. And, of course, it would never have been possible without mori, DRUMMIE, Ralphie Choo, Rusowsky and TRISTÁN!, the true essence of RUSIA-IDK.”
Rusowsky is represented by agent Devin Landau at TBA.
Elsewhere…
Katharine McPhee signed a label deal with Nashville-based company Melody Place, which will release new music from the singer and actress early next year. McPhee is slated to make her Grand Ole Opry debut on Oct. 12.
U.K. band The Last Dinner Party signed with PPL for the collection of their international neighboring rights royalties. In February, the five-piece group notched a No. 1 album in the United Kingdom with their debut studio set Prelude to Ecstasy. According to a press release, the band accumulated more than 688,000 seconds of airplay between April 2023 and May 2024, with the majority (62%) of that coming from their debut single “Nothing Matters.”
PULSE Records signed former America’s Got Talent winner Grace VanderWaal. The label released her new single, “Call It What You Want,” on Friday (Aug. 16); it will be followed by an album next spring. VanderWaal is managed by Brad Cohen at Raw Material and booked by Janet Kim at UTA.
BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville signed country singer-songwriter Lanie Gardner, who first rose to attention with her rendition of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams.” She was recently featured on the Twisters soundtrack with the track “Chasing the Wind” and is slated to tour with Jelly Roll and ZZ Ward. Her most recent single is “Lord Knows.”
Red Bull Records signed singer-songwriter Morgan (“ADCT”) and released her new single, “Bum Bum,” on Friday (Aug. 16). Morgan previously released collaborations with and wrote songs for the dance group Rudimental before collaborating with acts like Purple Disco Machine, Sonny Fodera and Sigma. She released her debut solo EP, Alien, in 2020.
Music, audio post-production and sonic branding company Barking Owl added composer, songwriter and producer Dan Romer to its roster. Barking Owl will exclusively represent Romer — whose scores include Beasts of the Southern Wild, ABC’s The Good Doctor and HBO MAX’s Station Eleven, among others — for advertising and branded content. His production credits include A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera’s “Say Something” and Shawn Mendes’ “Treat You Better.”
Pop-rock artist Bailey Spinn, known for her popular YouTube covers of songs including Olivia Rodrigo’s “Traitor,” signed with AWAL, which released the acoustic version of her viral song “Happy Ending” on Aug. 7 (to be followed by the release of her debut album). Spinn is managed by Temima Shames at Next Step Talent and booked by Jason Parent at Sound Talent Group.
Canberra, Australia band Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers signed with Mom + Pop for the world (minus Australia and New Zealand). The band is ramping up for the release of I Love You Too, an extended version of its debut album I Love You, on Sept. 20; the set will feature three new songs, including the newly-released “Dull.” The Jean Teasers opened up dates for Foo Fighters in Australia and are slated to play several shows in the U.S. later this year, including a slot at Eddie Vedder’s Ohana Festival.
Wasserman Music signed country singer-songwriter Angie K to its roster, with Wasserman’s Nate Ritches representing her for worldwide representation. A 2024 CMT Listen Up Artist, Angie K is repped by JR Schumann for management, Huskins-Harris for business management and Essential Broadcast Media for public relations. – Jessica Nicholson
Singer-songwriter Christian Hayes, who first garnered attention when he posted a video of himself singing his song “Leaving” on Instagram in September 2023, has signed with WME, Universal Music Publishing Group and Flood Bumstead McCready & McCarthy for business management. He is managed by Helena Capps at Wildrose Projects. According to a press release, Hayes’ single “LILY” has racked up more than two million streams since its release this spring.
Warner Music Nashville signed The Band Loula and will release its major label debut track, “Don’t Call Me,” on Friday (Aug. 23). The band is managed by Mary Hilliard Harrington, Chip Dorsch and Christina Dunkley and booked by Grace Stern and Jay Williams at WME.
Artist-composer duo Idle Echoes (composed of Arkfoo and Jeff Dodson) has released its debut album Velvet Phoenix on the ALIBI Music label. ALIBI Music is best known as a provider of music and sound effects for licensing in film, TV, advertising, video games and more.
will.i.am has launched a new AI-driven radio service, RAiDiO.FYI, to evolve the static medium into a more personalized experience. With RAiDiO.FYI, users are able to have conversations with AI DJs about anything from music, to breaking news, to sports, to weather reports — and the service will create a listening experience designed to each user.
The new offering is part of FYI, a multi-faceted tech company which will.i.am founded to help “maximize creativity” for artists with the help of AI personas, file management, project management, design tools and more. Users can start listening for free on the FYI app, available for both iPhone and Android smartphones.
will.i.am says he had an “aha” moment when he was recently on a radio show and the DJ opened the request line. “The request line has always been always been awesome for radio with when the callers get to call in and talk to the DJ or talk to the guests, but they’re limited to one person at a time,” he tells Billboard. “And then after the broadcast you couldn’t talk the host.”
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While the relevance of AM/FM radio continues to wane, particularly with younger audiences, will.i.am’s RAiDiO.FYI promises to reinvigorate the medium by switching it from a passive, immovable experience to one that is much more engaging and playful.
“This is an infotainment revolution where you can go back and forth with information in a deep way, and I’m so excited to be launching that with FYI, and to all the folks out there listening,” says will.i.am.
In the future, FYI will continue to partner with content creators from various internet niches to publish their own stations on the radio, including stations dedicated to spots, tech, politics, music and more.
SYDNEY, Australia — Playbill Group, the venue management business that operates the Hordern Pavilion, a Sydney landmark, has struck a partnership with AEG Presents and Frontier Touring, part of the Mushroom Group.
Going forward, Michael Nebenzahl continues as managing director of Playbill, in a “business as usual” arrangement, reads a joint statement.
Playbill and Frontier, both Australian, family-founded companies proving competitive on the global stage, have much in common, Frontier Touring CEO Dion Brant tells Billboard. “When we met Michael and his team it became obvious that the similarities didn’t stop there. We think very similarly, we have similar values and a similar culture. Both companies care deeply and go the extra mile for their clients, be it a theatrical production, a sporting team, or a music artist. Both go out of their way to treat fans well. And both focus on hiring and developing talented people, care about their people and trust them to deliver day in day out.”
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He adds, “with all the things the companies have in common the partnership feels natural for both.”
Formed in 1958 by Brian and Jocelyn Nebenzahl, Playbill’s interests include management of the Hordern Pavilion, which this year celebrates its 100th anniversary, and will host the ARIA Awards this November for the third-successive year.
From its grand opening in 1924 until 1983 (when the now demolished Sydney Entertainment Centre first opened its doors), the Hordern, with its 5,500-capacity, was the largest indoor venue in the country’s biggest city. Over time, the room has hosted concerts by a who’s who of global superstars, from Frank Sinatra to Coldplay, Foo Fighters, Nirvana, David Bowie, Queen and the Jackson Five.
Playbill also merchandises for theatrical productions including musicals, national theatre and music companies in 12 countries worldwide, and partners with major sporting teams and operates venue concessions across the country and in Asia.
Playbill’s merchandise division has “been a mainstay” of the theater scene in Australia for over 60 years, notes Brant, “and is now a major force” on the world stage.
“I am delighted to be partnering with AEG Presents and Frontier Touring in this next phase of the Playbill journey,” comments Nebenzahl in a statement. “We have always prided ourselves on serving our customers, whether in musical theatre, sport or as a venue through the Hordern Pavilion. In AEG, we have found a like-minded partner to continue to honor the legacy my parents created when they founded the business.”
Frontier Touring and AEG Presents, the live-entertainment division of Los Angeles-based AEG, struck a strategic joint venture in 2019, formalizing a successful 12-year arrangement on tours into these parts. With that agreement, the award-winning Australian concerts specialist stepped into a global family whose portfolio includes venues around the globe, many at the arena-and-stadium level.
AEG has a long-established presence here through its then-named AEG Ogden joint venture, the largest venue management company in Asia Pacific. In 2019, AEG Facilities, the venue management subsidiary of AEG, announced a merger with SMG to create a new management empire called ASM Global, which would collect more than 300 facilities worldwide under a single banner.
“The Hordern and Frontier have a long-standing relationship bringing the best live music to Sydney,” comments Anthony Dunsford, GM Playbill Venues. “We look forward to continuing our role to bring iconic acts to the fans.”
After fully embracing Charli XCX’s Brat summer, Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign for president has taken Harris’ connection to the pop singer one step further by sponsoring Spotify’s official “This is Charli XCX” playlist.
Listeners on Spotify’s free, ad-supposed tier will now see an ad running on the playlist stating that the content is presented by the Harris/Walz campaign — effectively promoting the campaign for Harris and her running mate, Minnesota governor Tim Walz. Spotify’s free users will see the ad on both mobile and desktop versions of the Spotify app.
The two-and-a-half hour, career-spanning playlist boasts some of Charli XCX’s best-known songs, including “Guess” featuring Billie Eilish, “Speed Drive” from the Barbie soundtrack and “Boom Clap” from 2014’s sucker.
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According to Spotify’s advertising policy, the streaming service sells political ads in the U.S., U.K. and India only and has done so for a number of years.
The fine print states that ads are limited to those placed by candidates; political parties; political committees; any entity registered or reporting under any federal, state or local campaign finance law; or other entities sponsoring ads on behalf of any of the above-listed categories. The ads may feature a candidate for elected office; a current elected officeholder; or a ballot measure, proposition or initiative. It adds that the title sponsor (in this case, the Harris/Walz campaign) is not the only sponsor and other ads may be heard during a listening session.
The Harris/Walz ad began running at midnight on Monday (Aug. 19) and is slated to end on Sunday night (Aug. 25). Spotify did not respond to a question asking whether Charli XCX had to sign off on the ad.
Other U.S. political campaigns that have run ads on Spotify this year include those of Sherrod Brown, Eric Hovde, Sandy Pensler, Rick Scott, Elissa Slotkin and Tim Sheehy.
Though Charli XCX has not commented on the ad buy, the singer has previously declared her support for Harris. On July 21, the day President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race and endorsed Harris, the pop star posted “kamala IS brat” on X (formerly Twitter). The KamalaHQ X page has also leaned in, with the home page displaying “kamala hq” in the Brat album’s signature lime green color.
The 2024 Democratic National Convention kicked off Monday night at Chicago’s United Center with performances from artists including Jason Isbell, Mickey Guyton and James Taylor.
The U.S. Department of Justice has refiled its historic anti-trust lawsuit against concert promoter Live Nation, with 10 additional states joining the effort to break up the company more than a decade after its 2010 merger with Ticketmaster.
The Attorneys General for Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, Utah and Vermont were added to an amended complaint filed in New York’s Southern District on Monday (Aug. 19), bringing the total number of states participating in the lawsuit to 40 total, along with the District of Columbia.
“There is nothing new in the Amended Complaint,” a statement from Live Nation reads. “The lawsuit still won’t solve the issues fans care about relating to ticket prices, service fees, and access to in-demand shows. We look forward to sharing more facts as the case progresses.”
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The amended lawsuit re-alleges that Live Nation and Ticketmaster acted like a monopoly and violated Sections 1 and 2 of the Sherman Act by using illegal tactics to expand its concert promotion business and management of amphitheaters. The new complaint also includes new details about how Live Nation allegedly expanded its ticketing business after it merged with Ticketmaster in 2009, including information about the company’s controversial relationship with arena developer and operator Oak View Group (OVG). Founded in 2015 by Tim Leiweke and music manager Irving Azoff, Oak View Group manages nearly 200 venues and relies on Live Nation to bring major tours to its concert facilities, which includes such top U.S. venues as Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, the Moody Center in Austin and UBS Arena in Belmont, N.Y.
As the building manager’s main representative, OVG is supposed to manage the competitive process for selecting a venue’s ticketing contract, but the complaint alleges that OVG is obligated to “advocate for exclusive agreements with Ticketmaster for more than 100 venues Oak View Group manages” — which the lawsuit claims essentially “locks those venues into long-term exclusive Ticketmaster agreements.” The agreement, the government argues, unfairly prevents third-party competitors from entering the ticketing space while compensating OVG with a substantial “incentive payment” from Live Nation plus significant annual payments.
In fairness, OVG’s competitor AEG — which also competes with Live Nation for concert promotion and ticketing — also accepted payments for the buildings it managed under ASM Global, the building management firm it owned with Canadian private equity firm Onex and recently sold to Legends Hospitality.
The revised complaint does not include additional damaging exchanges between Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino and potential competitors, or new damaging information that shows the company employing heavy-handed tactics. Instead, it contains more analysis of the concert market following the merger of Live Nation-Ticketmaster. On that front, according to the complaint, “Live Nation’s conduct has harmed fans because they have been left with fewer concerts, have had more limited choices among touring artists, have paid higher ticketing fees, and have experienced a lower-quality ticketing experience than they otherwise would have but for Live Nation’s anticompetitive conduct.”