Among the more bizarre yet thoroughly amusing moments from the 2024 campaign was the video footage of President Biden donning a “Trump 2024” hat at a fire station in Pennsylvania. With his name not on the ballot, Biden appeared affable and care-free, smiling from ear to ear as he basked in the approval of an audience consisting mostly of Trump voters. It seems Mr. Biden may have kicked-off a trend.
Live Nation, Ticketmaster’s parent company, held their third quarter earnings call in the days following Donald Trump’s election, and the company is figuratively donning their “MAGA” hats, publicly calling for the incoming administration to make their problems go away by dismissing the Justice Department’s antitrust lawsuit against them.
Live Nation CFO Joe Berchtold said on the call the company is “hopeful” that the government changes course: “But absolutely we are hopeful that we'll see a return to the more traditional antitrust approach where the agencies have generally tried to find ways to solve problems they see with targeted remedies, that minimize government intervention in the marketplace.”
Seeking to embrace the incoming administration, Live Nation appears more off-brand than Biden himself, given the company has spent the past eight years as a high-profile redoubt against all things Trump -- promoting, echoing, and funding the anti-Trump “resistance” that has massive power within the entertainment industry. This power is at the heart of the DOJ's antitrust suit, now that Live Nation has secured 80 percent of the primary ticketing market for live events across the country while dominating secondary sales to the tune of $4.5 billion. With ownership or control of over 265 of the top national venues, 380 musical artists under contract, and a hefty 60 percent market share of all concert promotions, the DOJ made a rare proper decision to take action.
In a transparent attempt to pose as allies of Trump 47, Live Nation is now changing its tune faster than the cast of Hamilton. Recall that only months into Trump’s first term in office, longtime Live Nation CEO and president Michael Rapino issued a memo declaring that he and the company were “fundamentally opposed” to Donald Trump’s immigration policy.
Rapino also opened his wallet and provided Donald Trump’s opponents the maximum amount of money permitted under law. He contributed thousands of dollars to Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris in their bids for the White House against Donald Trump. Rapino also maxed out to Barack Obama, whom he hosted at a “private roundtable event” at his California home.
It's not only personal giving from executive leadership. Live Nation’s corporate political action committee gave tens of thousands more to Democratic committees than Republican committees in the 2024 election cycle.
It’s no surprise, then, that Live Nation has repeatedly weighed in on progressive social issues with no bearing on their core business. In 2020, Live Nation contributed to a progressive group that wants to “reallocate funds from traditional policing.” In 2021, Live Nation lent their support to a progressive group’s letter denouncing state bills that address voter fraud.
Live Nation has also lectured people to “start educating yourself” by reading their recommended books, including Ibram X. Kendi’s “How to Be an Antiracist” and Robin DiAngelo’s “White Fragility.” Kendi and DiAngelo have been deemed “charlatans” who lead a movement that “is little more than self-help for White people that runs interference for corporations and wealthy universities.” Kendi became “the head sage of a global progressive movement,” as Tyler Austin Harper wrote in the Washington Post.
Of course, Live Nation also owes much of their bottom line to prominent anti-Trump musical artists. Taylor Swift endorsed Harris and said Trump stoked “the fires of white supremacy and racism [his] entire presidency.” Beyonce rallied with Harris and wrote a song with lyrics about “votin’ out 45.” Billie Eilish called Trump a “convicted predator” and thought about cancelling her show after Trump won the 2024 election. The list goes on and on, and Live Nation enjoys an avalanche of cash from all of them.
Live Nation has profited handsomely for years by aligning itself against President Trump and his movement while giving a platform to his celebrity detractors. The company’s overtures toward Trump now are as laughable as they are shameless, especially given that their money and reputation were spent to help elect the administration to which they owe their current legal woes.
Whatever one may think of Joe Biden, he actually wore the Trump hat well. Live Nation, not so much. Fans of live concerts and karma should hope that Live Nation – unlike millions of its stiffed customers – get exactly what they paid for, in their case an adversarial administration who aims to address their monopolistic and anti-competitive business model.
Gerard Scimeca is an attorney and chairman of CASE, Consumer Action for a Strong Economy, a free-market oriented consumer advocacy organization which he co-founded.
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