Internal documents reviewed by NBC News offer a closer look at how Live Nation operates behind the scenes, detailing its negotiations with artists and venues and suggesting that the accounting methods used to calculate partner payouts may not align with its own figures.
Records indicate that the company's industry clout enables it to set terms with artists, venues, and co-promoters in ways that strengthen its profits while driving up event costs.
The documents span 2011 to 2014, shortly after Live Nation entered into an antitrust agreement with the federal government in which it pledged not to retaliate against venues that chose to work with Ticketmaster competitors.
The report came as jury deliberations began Friday in an antitrust case pitting 34 states against the concert giant Live Nation Entertainment.
The states argue in the civil case that the company and its ticketing arm, Ticketmaster, are monopolizing the industry and driving up prices to see live music.
Live Nation contends there is more competition than ever and the company plays fair amid a U.S. booming concert business.
The internal documents viewed by NBC suggest Live Nation has leveraged its influence to pressure artists, venues, and co-promoters into agreements that bolster its profits and raise event costs.
The records echo concerns raised by Justice Department prosecutors, who in a 2020 court filing pointed to Live Nation's "well-earned reputation for threatening behavior and retaliation."
In that filing, the DOJ argued the company should remain under antitrust oversight for an additional five and a half years — a position the court ultimately upheld.
One document — a company spreadsheet — details venues, artists, and show-specific financial data for 260 Live Nation events in 2012, presenting two sets of figures.
Internally, Live Nation's accounting showed the company generated, or expected to generate, more than $15 million in total profits from those events.
But figures shared with its partners on the same shows, including artists such as Van Halen and John Prine, instead reflected combined losses of about $1.5 million, a discrepancy that concert promoters told NBC News would likely result in smaller payouts to artists and co-promoters.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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