live nation Archives - Wakeman Consulting Group

John Breyault thinks that monopolies are gonna monopoly…I agree.

My guest today is John Breyault. John is with the National Consumers League. His work is on consumer protection. This made a conversation about the Live Nation trial timely. We cover a lot of ground about Live Nation and tickets including: And, more! I’ve written too many words about this case, but if you haven’t […]

The Three Mirages: Why Organizations Chase the Wrong Targets

There’s a feeling we are all familiar with. Working hard. Growing. Adding clients. Opening offices. Can’t quite keep up. But something feels off. Like you are chasing something elusive. Likely a mirage…I’ve identified three that seduce more organizations than anything else. The Money Mirage: “Growth” becomes “success.” Revenue. Headcount. New markets. New offices. Measurable. Addictive. […]

The Extraction Economy vs. Value Creating Organizations

Everyone seems to feel like the economy is broken. No hiring. Job losses. Everything costs more. Tough times all around. I have a name for what’s broken. The Extraction Economy. This is the system where insiders design the rules to capture value created by outsiders. Opacity, asymmetry, short-term optimization…all in service of building moats around […]

Must Be Nice Not to Know: Michael Rapino’s Testimony in NYC

Michael Rapino took the stand in Manhattan today. The Live Nation CEO had a simple answer for a lot of questions: I don’t know. The 2016 email where he admitted fees were too high? “I don’t remember that.” The Slack messages where employees joke about robbing fans blind? “I only learned about them last week.” The service […]

The Broker Debate: Three Voices…More Than One Truth?

This started on Tuesday. Randy Nichols drew a comparison between bootleggers and ticket brokers. (As the grandson of a famous Georgia bootlegger, I took no offense.) “The carry inventory, risk, need to deal with forecasting,” he wrote. “But at the end of the day, they aren’t a partner. They’re stealing.” Josh Ludwig jumped on that […]

Even if the States Win, Will It Be Enough?

Thirty-six states and DC returned to the courtroom Monday. They rejected the DOJ’s settlement. They hired a rock star of antitrust. They are presenting evidence. And the evidence is brutal. Bob Roux, Live Nation’s president of US concerts, took the stand on Monday. He claimed “more competition than ever.” He denied blocking artists from non-Ticketmaster […]

Why I Keep Writing About Live Nation

What Talking Tickets is about for readers, old and new. Why Live Nation? Why Now? I’ve been writing a lot about Live Nation over the last few days. The trial. The secret settlement. The unsealed documents. The David Marcus reply on LinkedIn. It’s a lot. Especially since I don’t really ever write about or think […]