In its lawsuit accusing Dwell Nation Leisure, the live performance behemoth that owns Ticketmaster, of being an unlawful monopoly, the Justice Division drew on a raft of inner communications that provided a uncommon behind-the-scenes take a look at the trade.

The Justice Division argued in an intensive grievance filed on Thursday that the merger of Dwell Nation and Ticketmaster, which went by means of in 2010, had harm competitors, hindered innovation and resulted in larger ticket costs and costs for shoppers. It referred to as for the corporate to be damaged up.

In response, Dwell Nation, which can be the world’s largest live performance promoter, has stated that it’s not a monopoly, and denied that it has the unilateral energy to boost costs. Opposite to the federal government’s argument about its nice energy, Dwell Nation says it now faces extra competitors than ever, and that the Justice Division’s go well with “gained’t scale back ticket costs or service charges.”

Detailing its allegations, the federal government relied on eye-opening emails that it says had been written by Dwell Nation’s chief government, Michael Rapino, and different high-powered figures within the live performance world.

Listed below are a number of of these accusations.

A possible rival’s Kanye West live performance

One episode from 2021 goes to the center of the Justice Division’s allegations that Dwell Nation went to excessive lengths to guard its aggressive edge.

Late that 12 months, the federal government says, Dwell Nation “threatened business retaliation” in opposition to the personal fairness agency Silver Lake, which had an funding in TEG, an Australian ticketing and promotions firm that was concerned in a extremely anticipated profit present by Kanye West and Drake on the L.A. Coliseum. Silver Lake had additionally invested in Oak View Group, a venue administration firm with shut ties to Dwell Nation.

Based on the federal government, Rapino complained to an Oak View Group government that he considered TEG as a competitor, and Oak View Group relayed to the investor that Dwell Nation was “not pleased.” Rapino then instructed Silver Lake he was “all in” with Oak View Group, “the place the large play lies with venues — why insult me with this funding in ticketing/promotions and so on.”

TEG had organized a deal to promote some tickets by means of StubHub. Based on the grievance, Dwell Nation sought to “frustrate” TEG by blocking these tickets, and consequently “a whole bunch of StubHub’s prospects had been refused entry to the occasion.”

Dwell Nation then “threatened to drag its help from Oak View Group,” and Irving Azoff, the highly effective artist supervisor who was a co-founder of Oak View Group, refused to permit TEG to advertise exhibits with any of the artists he managed. Azoff instructed Rapino he would demand that Silver Lake promote TEG, and Rapino replied, “Love ya.” Based on the grievance, Silver Lake sought to promote TEG — and provided it to Dwell Nation.

In a detailed response to the Justice Division’s lawsuit, Dan Wall, Dwell Nation’s government vp of company and regulatory affairs, stated the declare that Dwell Nation had threatened Silver Lake “reveals not solely a disregard for the info, but additionally deep hypocrisy.”

Rapino’s grievance, Wall stated, was “basically the identical” as a priority by each the Justice Division and the Federal Commerce Fee over “personal fairness corporations making a number of investments in the identical trade due to aggressive ‘entanglements.’”

In a separate assertion concerning the live performance on the L.A. Coliseum, Dwell Nation stated: “The one factor that we did was frustrate TEG’s efforts to place tickets immediately on the secondary market in violation of our unique rights over main tickets.” Silver Lake didn’t reply to a request for remark.

A competitor turned ‘hammer’

Dwell Nation, the federal government says, initially considered Oak View Group as one in all its “Greatest Competitor Threats.” However quickly the businesses “colluded,” the federal government says, to “keep away from competing with one another, and chart a mutually helpful marketing strategy to cement Dwell Nation’s dominance.”

Oak View Group, the federal government says, operated as an “agent” for Dwell Nation, even calling itself a “pimp” and a “hammer” for the bigger firm, generally delivering threats on behalf of Dwell Nation to venues that had been contemplating dropping Ticketmaster for an additional ticket supplier.

The federal government’s grievance quotes from what it says are emails from 2016 during which Rapino complains to Oak View Group executives about their intention to advertise exhibits with an artist that Dwell Nation works with. Oak View Group backs down, with the corporate’s chief government — who just isn’t recognized within the grievance, however is Timothy Leiweke — saying: “Our guys bought a bit forward. All know we don’t promote and we solely do excursions with Dwell Nation.”

Wall, the Dwell Nation government, stated in response that Oak View Group “has by no means been a live performance promoter, nor aspired to be one,” and that it was merely seeking to fill the occasional darkish night time at one in all its venues. “To painting that as an settlement to not compete in live performance promotion is farcical,” Wall wrote. A consultant of Oak View Group declined to remark.

A ticketing rival at Barclays Middle

In early 2023, The New York Instances broke the information that Barclays Middle, the world in Brooklyn, was dropping SeatGeek, the younger and aggressive ticketing enterprise it had simply entered a seven-year contract with, and signing a brand new cope with Ticketmaster.

The abrupt change raised eyebrows within the trade, and led to questions on whether or not Dwell Nation had denied the venue entry to Dwell Nation’s largest excursions as retaliation for switching from Ticketmaster to SeatGeek. Dwell Nation denied that on the time, and a evaluate of live performance knowledge by The Instances was inconclusive. The variety of Dwell Nation-promoted exhibits at Barclays had certainly fallen since SeatGeek took over, however so had these by unbiased promoters.

The Justice Division’s case omits Barclays’ identify from the go well with, however Wall confirmed it in a convention name with traders late Thursday. The federal government quotes from an e-mail that it says was despatched to the venue’s chief government from “a senior Dwell Nation government” who had heard the venue was switching to SeatGeek: “Anyhow,” the e-mail says, “ought to take into consideration larger relationship with LN not simply who’s writing a much bigger sponsorship test,” including a “wink” emoji.

Based on the federal government, Dwell Nation “adopted by means of on its threats, re-routing live shows to different venues.”

In response, Dwell Nation stated, “We categorically deny that any live shows had been rerouted to retaliate in opposition to their determination to go to SeatGeek.”

Shopping for rival corporations

The federal government argues that Dwell Nation has acquired quite a lot of corporations with an intention to remove rivals in each live performance promotion and ticketing.

Among the many examples the federal government cites are United Live shows in Utah, which used a regional ticketing firm referred to as SmithsTix. Based on the what the federal government says had been inner communications at Dwell Nation, the corporate wished a larger ticketing foothold in Utah however selected to not purchase SmithsTix as a result of doing so would “require us to go to the DOJ.” As an alternative, Dwell Nation purchased United Live shows in 2017 and transformed its venues to Ticketmaster; SmithsTix, it stated, in the end went out of enterprise.

One other is AC Leisure in Tennessee, which had performed an element within the Bonnaroo competition there. Dwell Nation took a controlling stake within the firm in 2016. A Dwell Nation government considered the economics of the deal as “not tremendous thrilling,” however referred to as it “a defensive transfer” in opposition to AEG, based on the grievance. In 2018, Dwell Nation purchased Frank Productions, a promoter in Wisconsin that used ticketers apart from Ticketmaster; Dwell Nation acquired the corporate and “flipped the venues to unique Ticketmaster contracts.”

In response, Wall stated the deal for AC Leisure was made with a promoter who was in his 60s and wished to retire. “Dwell Nation didn’t have a Knoxville workplace, so for $15 million it made the deal,” Wall wrote. “Significantly? The DOJ is difficult that?”