MEAL TICKET

Ticketing Exec Cornered on His Insults to ‘Stupid’ Customers in Leaked Chats

Live Nation is defending itself against a lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Justice and a coalition of states.

A top executive at Live Nation, parent of Ticketmaster, faced scrutiny in court on Tuesday after private messages showed him mocking customers as “stupid.” The concert giant is defending itself against a lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Justice and a coalition of states, which allege the company has illegally monopolized the U.S. live entertainment market. During the trial, messages between Benjamin Baker, Live Nation’s head of ticketing, and colleague Jeff Weinhold were made public. They boasted about charging fans for lawn chair rentals, preferred seating, parking, and VIP access. In one 2022 Slack message, Baker wrote, “These people are so stupid. I almost feel bad for taking advantage of them.” State lawyer Jeffrey Kessler confronted Baker with the message in court. Baker grew emotional, saying, “I used very immature and regrettable language and that was not the language I was trying to convey.” Kessler pressed: “You could have charged $25!” Baker explained they were only discussing “optional” expenses. Kessler countered: “Also optional not to exploit every single dollar it can extract from these fans.”