Its his own mini dad-rock mecca.
(Its named Murray after the family dog, a schnauzer-poodle mix.)
And the crown jewel: a lightly modified 1960 sunburst Stratocaster.
A game of “Anti-Monopoly” on the wall of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division in Washington, D.C.Maansi Srivastava for Rolling Stone
At least a dozen more guitars are hidden away in closets in the back of the room.
(Ten more statesjoined in August.)
When we talk to family farmers concerned about meat-packers and processors, we hear the same sort of urgency.
Same with health care, Kanter tellsRolling Stone.
The complaint comes at what feels like a peak moment of fan frustration over the concert-going experience.
Those who get shut out during the official sale and turn to the secondary ticket market fare no better.
Todays scalpers use bots to game the system and charge double the face value, or more.
(Ticketmaster isnt listing resold tickets for Swifts shows.)
Even artists lament the current state of the market.
Last year, Zach Bryan announced hed playmainly non-Ticketmaster venuesfor his Burn, Burn, Burn Tour.
By September, hedended that battle, electing to play Ticketmaster venues for his Quittin Time Tour.
Not all of these problems are attributable to Live Nation and Ticketmaster, of course.
While it relies on having a business infrastructure to be able to operate, it runs deeper than that.
It has hugely important personal meaning to so many music fans.
Live Nation is unquestionably the most powerful entity in the live-music business.
Its one of the largest music-management companies, representing 380 artists last year.
(Live Nation maintains the resale marketplace is a small part of its business.)
We are here because … that conduct is anticompetitive and illegal.
It is time to break it up.
(Live Nation says venues taketwo-thirds of ticket feesto cover operation costs for concerts.)
A breakup of Live Nation, Wall says, wont solve this problem.
Jonathan Kanter is being extremely disingenuous in what he says to the American public about ticket prices.
People think were this filthy-rich monopolist when were an exceedingly modestly profitable company, he says.
Not everyone is buying Walls argument.
Ticketmaster is a multi BILLION dollar company.
They knew the demand for these tickets.
They need better systems.
If you did, you would have this issue solved by now after YEARS of things like this happening.
Yes, Live Nations monopolistic business practices hurt AEG.
But thats not what the DOJs lawsuit is about.
Its about fostering greater competition for the benefit of artists and fans.
SeatGeek declined to comment for this article.
It was pushing on an open door.
Clear Channel spun off that business in 2005, establishing the promotion firm now known as Live Nation.
From that point on, promotion was a national game and Live Nation was the de facto concert leader.
The internet had other ripple effects.
Prior to that, artists had the biggest megaphone in the fight against Ticketmaster.
Pearl Jam railed against the companys service-fee policy way back in 1994, well before the Live Nation merger.
The band even went so far as tofile an antitrust complaintwith the Justice Department.
(The department closed the investigation the following year with no action.)
If Pearl Jam couldnt do it,Rolling Stonewrote in 1995, who can?
Thirty years later, the DOJs lawsuit could finally be a first step toward lower prices.
Still, music-industry experts like Erickson say breaking up Live Nation and Ticketmaster isnt enough.
Regulation of the secondary market is crucial to fixing the system, too.
Until recently, the regulators, policymakers, and enforcers who couldve done something havent been doing their jobs.
People recognize theres a problem here, but nobody really wants to stick their head up.
A bottle of Cholula rests pointedly atop a fireplace mantle there.
The room next door is called mild, complete with an unopened jar of Tostitos mild salsa.
Is this typical for how the antitrust department has looked in the past?
No, definitely not, he says.
Their clients like it, Kanter says.
The lawyers, not so much.
Kanters own office is similarly colorful.
Monopoly, on display, including in Kanters personal restroom.
To me, the American dream is to own your own house and own your own business.
That was the pathway to success, Kanter says, sitting on a blue leather chair in his office.
A Jerry Garcia Funko pop and Kanters Ukrainian-American grandfathers certificate of naturalization sit on a coffee table nearby.
The power that big companies have can rival governments if not exceed them.
Thats not freedom, thats not opportunity, he adds.
For rising and mid-tier artists, touring expenses still make earning a living on the road difficult.
Today, no one is writing bigger checks to touring artists than Live Nation.
But the DOJ allowed the merger anyway.
Critics blasted the decision and point to the current situation as evidence that their concerns were justified.
The paycheck of a staff attorney in the antitrust division says trial attorney.
Their job is to go to trial.
Their job is not to interpret a consent decree and figure out how to regulate a market.
The Department of Justice failed in two ways.
They really didnt understand the industry they were working with, she says.
And they didnt understand the magnitude of the monopolies that were already in place.
They just really missed it altogether.
Balto and the live-music industry insider recall being summoned to the DOJs office soon after the merger confirmation.
We all looked at each other in there just thinking, This is bullshit, the insider says.
But retaliation allegations surface in the governments new complaint as well.
(Wall denies those claims, alleging that tech issues on SeatGeeks platform led to the switch.
Venues dont have to be told [what would happen], the former executive says.
Ticketmaster reps are probably toldnottosay [anything].
Many venues look at it as beneficial [to deal with them] knowing youll get more shows.
Theres just no reason we should have had to settle for this, says Erickson.
The staff was like, No we cant do this, were going to lose, Balto adds.
But whats the harm in losing?
Back then, regulators were optimistic that those consent decrees would protect the markets.
Live Nation subtly and increasingly not-so-subtly found ways to evade the commitments theyd made.
Thats why my successor under Trump went after them, Baer says.
They cut off all the different vectors, and they all work together.
Wall says he doesnt expect the antitrust divisions hardened stance under Kanter to last when his tenure is done.
This is going to be a blip, he says.
(Asked about Walls claim, Kanter says that the work that were doingisthe current consensus.)
Theres nothing in the four corners of this lawsuit that we couldnt have potentially settled and compromised.
Asked directly if he feels the DOJ made a mistake, Kanter is guarded.
You have to focus on whats in front of you, he says.
Our case isnt about a merger; its about what happened after a merger.
Still, he says, We take a clear-eyed look at the facts to determine if theres a problem.
And if there is a problem, we call it like we see it.
Does Kanter think anything short of an absolute Ticketmaster-Live Nation breakup will remedy the situation?
Meaning: A breakup is necessary.
We are not that direct in all of our cases.
Abuse, Exploitation, and Self-Dealing
The DOJs investigation moved quickly.
Ticketmaster had its explanation for what happened.
Obviously, there are times where demand outstrips supply.
Thats just the way the market works.
Our claim was about something different; [it was] about abuse, exploitation, and self-dealing.
The DOJ asserts that that puts smaller competitors without multifaceted businesses at an unfair disadvantage.
Wall calls that flywheel argument all rhetoric.
You have to find the efficiencies of combining them to be a competitor.
The lawsuit says Live Nation has dominated the market through its exclusivity agreements with venues.
But the DOJ alleges that the Ticketmaster exclusives are predatory.
A rep for Oak View Group declined to comment.)
We have done his [touring] and vegas[.]
Lets verify we dont let [the artist agency] now start playing us off.
If you want the promoter, you have to use the ticketing.
If you want access to the venue, you have to use the ticketing, Kanter explains.
If you want access to the artist, you have to use the ticketing and the promoter.
They cut off all the different vectors, and they all work together.
Without missing a beat, both give virtually the same answer: more aggressive antitrust policy.
Mekki and another executive within the antitrust division have octopus plush toys in their office to reinforce the metaphor.
In an earlier era, theyd go after the tentacles, Kanter says.
They grow back, Kanter interjects.
But if you go for the head … she says, not having to finish the sentence.
Still, Kanter and Mekki seem unperturbed, pointing to the bipartisan support this suit has drawn.
Ticketmaster is our attempt to say that in this industry … its not just about the venues.
Its not just about the promoter.
Its not just about workers.
More of it gets sucked out in the middle, and it always comes up Live Nation.
