Day 21 & 22: Live Nation Rests Its Case!
Live Nation closes its defense in the antitrust trial with Drake’s manager singing the company’s praises and an economist arguing that “large amphitheater” markets don’t exist.
Live Nation Entertainment wrapped up its evidence Tuesday and Wednesday in the momentous antitrust case brought by the DOJ and now being litigated by a coalition of over 30 states. To seal its defense, the company called two very different, high-powered witnesses: economics expert Ali Yurukoglu and Drake’s manager, Adel Nur.
Antitrust cases are often won or lost on reams of data and legal and economic theory ruled on solely by a judge. That a lay jury will instead decide whether Live Nation violated Section 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act may explain why Live Nation decided to close with Nur. As Drake’s manager, Nur represents the perspective of a uniquely prominent entertainer.
Jurors watched attentively as Nur appeared via video deposition, a format that typically lulls the courtroom to sleep. He portrayed Live Nation as nothing less than the best in the business, extolling its service, loyalty and fairness. He reviewed emails in which he called Drake’s work with Live Nation “the single most important relationship” of his career and described Michael Rapino as “one or none.” Beyond Live Nation, Nur vouched for Ticketmaster’s superiority, calling the company “so much easier” and “better” than its rivals.
Of course, Drake is no typical client. He is, by Nur’s account, the biggest artist on the planet, operating under terms that do not exist for anyone else. At one point, Nur was asked to interpret a lyric from Drake’s 2013 song Pound Cake: “The contract like ’91 Dan Marino, I swear this guy Michael Rapino boostin’ my ego.” Nur agreed that it likely referred to Drake’s favorable Live Nation contract.
Nur’s testimony followed Live Nation’s last expert witness—maybe its strongest. A central question the jury will decide is whether a distinct market exists for large amphitheaters, outdoor venues that seat at least 8,000 people. The plaintiffs argue that Live Nation has illegally monopolized this market, owning or exclusively operating 78 percent of large amphitheaters in the U.S. That power, plaintiffs say, is leveraged to condition access to its venues on using its promotion services.
The states have presented strong evidence of Live Nation’s sheer dominance within this market and its moves to shut out competitors and drive up prices. If you’ve been paying close attention, you’ll recall the “robbing them blind” quotes. But that theory only holds if large amphitheaters constitute a distinct antitrust market.
Enter Live Nation’s economics expert Ali Yurukoglu. He testified yesterday that they do not. According to his analysis, artists routinely substitute arenas and other venues for large amphitheaters, which suggests the alleged market includes more than just amphitheaters. While a few artists perform exclusively in amphitheaters, most move between multiple types of venues. If a large amphitheater raised its prices or became unavailable, Yurukoglu said, artists would simply perform somewhere else, outside the amphitheater category.
The evidence of this, he said, could be found after the 2023 closure of the FivePoint Amphitheater in Los Angeles. Yurukoglu examined the artists who had performed there in the years prior to its closure and their behavior upon returning to the city afterwards. He found that when they returned, only about 20 percent of performers played in amphitheaters. The majority went to other venues. “To see that 80 percent of the time when it’s not available, they are going to something else,” he said, “that is not appropriate market definition,” referring to the alleged amphitheater market.
That being said, following the closure of FivePoint, Los Angeles was left with only one large amphitheater, the Hollywood Bowl. When it is not being used by the Los Angeles Symphony, the amphitheater is exclusively operated by one promoter. That promoter is none other than… Live Nation.
With Live Nation having rested its case, tomorrow morning the parties will deliver their closing arguments. To be continued!
Also on deck: an update on how the judge ruled on Live Nation’s motions alleging perjury and witness tampering.
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