live nation Archives - Wakeman Consulting Group

RE: $414 Million Saved is Only Half the Story

August 12, 2026
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In the joy of completing my math project, I forgot to mention two important things…to me, at least. First, in July, Pearl Jam made a grant in my honor to support youth soccer in the DC area. Pretty sweet. Another cool thing. Friend of the newsletter, podcast, and all of my assorted adventures, Tim Chambers, […]

August 11, 2026
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The secondary market has been in the news a lot lately…a lot. The D.C. RESALE ACT just passed. StubHub is facing a lawsuit over illegal practices. The Savannah Bananas kept resale in-house. They saved their fans $13.69M. No fraud. No black-market boogie man. Just real relationships with fans…sustained and deepened. StubHub’s CEO is under investigation […]

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 […]