Slack messages from 2021-23 become evidence fight in Manhattan antitrust case
U.S. government and state prosecutors on Thursday asked a federal judge to allow Slack messages from a Live Nation employee to be used in an ongoing antitrust trial involving Live Nation and its Ticketmaster unit. Prosecutors said the internal messages—highlighted in a filing released to the public court record—include language that mocks customers and boasts about Live Nation profiting from fans. The request came as the case’s future has grown uncertain after a federal settlement announcement.
The messages were sent and discussed on a work messaging platform called Slack between late 2021 and early 2023, according to the filing. The government and plaintiff states characterized the messages as “candid, internal messages,” and they urged Judge Arun Subramanian to treat them as evidence in the week-old trial in Manhattan federal court.
Prosecutors argued that the messages connect to the states’ and federal government’s theory of the case, which alleges Live Nation and Ticketmaster squelched competition and drove up prices for fans through tactics that include threats and retaliation. The companies deny the claims, arguing that artists, sports teams and venues set prices and decide how tickets are sold.
In the submission, the prosecutors said the Slack messages include statements attributed to Ben Baker, describing fans using derogatory language. They said Baker called fans “so stupid,” explained that he “gouge(s)” them, and wrote that Live Nation was “robbing them blind, baby.”
The filing also described Baker’s job at the time he made the statements. Prosecutors said Baker wrote the comments while serving as a regional director of ticketing for a large amphitheater in Florida, and that he has since been promoted to head of ticketing for Venue Nation with responsibilities relating to all of Live Nation’s venues.
Prosecutors said the Slack exchange took place as employees discussed Live Nation’s prices for access to the VIP area of a show at the MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre in Tampa. The government and states said Baker wrote that the prices are “outrageous,” that “these people are so stupid,” and that “I almost feel bad taking advantage of them,” before writing “BAHAHAHAHAHA.”
Live Nation, in turn, sought to disqualify the exhibits. The company told the court the messages reflect “off-the-cuff banter, not policy,” and described them as banter between two personal friends who do not work together. Live Nation also argued the messages do not relate to the antitrust claims, saying the employees were making passing references to non-ticket ancillary products such as VIP club access, premier parking, or lawn chair rentals sold to concertgoers at amphitheaters in Florida and Virginia.
Lawyers for the plaintiff states and the U.S. government countered that the ancillary-service pricing dispute is directly relevant to the claims. They said “excessive prices for ancillary services are directly relevant,” and they wrote that “ancillaries are a significant way that Live Nation monetizes its monopoly position in the amphitheater market.”
In a statement Thursday, Live Nation said the Slack exchange “from one junior staffer to a friend absolutely doesn’t reflect our values or how we operate.” The company added that because it was a private Slack message, leadership learned of the exchange when the public did and that it “will be looking into the matter promptly.”
The exhibit arguments were made after requests from media outlets—including Bloomberg News, The New York Times and MLex, and Inner City Press—prompted the public release of the materials.
Trial uncertainty grows after federal settlement; judge urges negotiations
The trial’s status is “up in the air” following the federal government’s announcement this week that it was settling with Live Nation in a deal that would give Live Nation’s competitors some access to ticket sales they are currently excluded from, according to the reporting. Lawyers for more than two dozen states asked that the ongoing trial be scrapped and that a new jury be chosen.
A jury that began hearing evidence last week was told to stay home this week, with the expectation that the trial would resume on Monday. Subramanian encouraged lawyers for the states and Live Nation to negotiate this week before telling him late Friday whether they had reached a deal, and a Live Nation lawyer had indicated at a Tuesday court hearing that there was no realistic chance of a fast deal involving all states.
In a letter to the judge Thursday, a states’ lawyer signaled the trial was likely to resume and argued that Subramanian needed to rule on whether the Slack message exhibits can be shown to the jury. The letter said the judge’s decision would have a “material impact” on which witnesses the states would call as they prepare to resume trial next week.