Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino called the staffer who bragged about overcharging customers “disgusting,” even though they remain employed, per media reports.
Rapino made a court appearance on Thursday where he shared his thoughts on his employees Ben Baker and Jeff Weinhold’s internal remarks, both of whom have worked at the company as regional directors of ticketing.
“It’s disgusting. It’s not the way we operate,” Rapino said, adding that he wasn’t aware of the matter until their comments were revealed last week and that Baker — who boasted about “robbing” ticket buyers — hasn’t been fired. He shared that he will “deal with” situation this week, but noted that “we don’t fire easily.”
Weinhold and Baker’s Slack-based conversation was made public in New York’s Southern District court last week. The pair discussed “price gouging” customers, calling them “so stupid” for purchasing tickets and other upgrades at inflated prices.
One of the comments noted in the documents was from Baker admittedly saying their listed prices for certain ancillary services and fees, such as parking, were “f—king outrageous” and that “these people are so stupid” for paying for it.
“I almost feel bad taking advantage of them,” Baker said before a laugh, the documents noted. In another instance, the pair discussed the prices for upgraded parking at their respective venues, one of which cost $250 a spot.
“Robbing them blind, baby … That’s how we do,” Baker added, further bragging about offering customers a $50 price tag to “park in the grass” and $10 more to get a spot on “closer grass.”
In a previous statement to TheWrap, Live Nation said Baker and Weinhold’s comments do not reflect the company’s values and that it will be looking into the matter.
“The Slack exchange from one junior staffer to a friend absolutely doesn’t reflect our values or how we operate,” the statement read. “Because this was a private Slack message, leadership learned of this when the public did, and will be looking into the matter promptly. Our business only works when fans have great experiences, which is why we’ve capped amphitheater venue fees at 15% and have invested $1 billion in the last 18 months into U.S. venues and fan amenities.”
On March 9, Live Nation struck a federal settlement deal with the Justice Department, abruptly ending a landmark antitrust trial less than a week after it began, though individual states are still pursuing their cases. Baker, who used to lead Live Nation’s ticketing for Venue Nation, was set to testify in the trial. Per the New York Times, Weinhold is a senior ticketing director based in Washington. The newspaper reports Live Nation tried to exclude internal staff conversations from evidence in its antitrust lawsuit.
The settlement is reported to range from roughly $200-$280 million in civil penalties across the 40 states that sued the event company for creating a ticket sales monopoly. Ticketmaster will now have to open up its technology to other third-party ticket sellers rather than separate from Live Nation entirely.