Weinhold wrote another conversation“I have VIP parking for up to $250.” Baker replied, “I almost feel bad using them.” Weinhold then mentioned that he was raising the club prices to $125, to which Baker replied, “I wonder if I can get $225.”
Live Nation said the messages do not reflect the company’s general operations. “A Slack exchange from one junior employee to a friend is completely unrepresentative of our values or how we operate,” Live Nation said in a statement to Ars today. “Because it was a private Slack message, management learned about it when the public found out and will look into it immediately. Our business only works when fans have a great experience, which is why we’ve capped amphitheater venue fees at 15 percent and invested $1 billion in US venues and fan services over the past 18 months.”
The US and the states said Live Nation undercut Baker’s position with the company. “Defendants’ brief does not state that this individual has since been promoted and now serves as Head of Ticketing for Venue Nation, with responsibilities for all of Live Nation’s venues,” the plaintiffs’ brief said.
Live Nation said March 8 appeal that the messages were not relevant to the test because they involved payments for things like VIP club access, first-class parking, or lawn chair rentals. “These products are sold separately from tickets, not the main concert tickets, and are not part of the ticketing services markets at issue in this trial; they have nothing to do with the parties’ claims and defenses,” Live Nation told the court.
Live Nation: Messages ‘could inflame jury’
Live Nation said the sole purpose of using the exhibits as evidence was to “portray the Defendants in an unfavorable light and to incite the jury against the Defendants” and that the exhibits would “confuse and confuse the jury, invite an improperly emotional decision, and cause an unfair prejudice against the Defendants.” The company also asked the court to bar the plaintiffs from “examining Ben Baker or any other witness about the nature of these Exhibits or related communications related to ancillary, fanatical products and services not related to markets and litigation.”
