live nation Archives - Wakeman Consulting Group

A Ticket Market That Works: A Fan First Ticket Framework

The D.C. RESALE Act is moving in the right direction. Introduced in April 2025, the original idea capped resale prices at face value plus 10%, banned “spec” ticketing, and imposed all-in pricing and refund requirements. As originally conceived, it was a direct attack on the secondary market. The resellers were villains. The primary market victims. […]

Now What? A Jury Found Live Nation Guilty…A Competitor’s Playbook

A New York jury put a label on something Live Nation likes to deny. They are a monopoly. You already knew that. We wait for the remedy to see how much this verdict changes the live entertainment business. But right now is an opportunity. If you are willing to take it. The verdict put a […]

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 […]