Plus: Drive-through chatbots arrive at Dairy Queen; Yale blames itself for the growing mistrust in higher education.
A federal jury has determined that Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation, have been operating as a monopoly in violation of federal and state antitrust laws.
Live Nation, however, doesn’t believe this means the show’s over.
“The jury’s verdict is not the last word on this matter,” the entertainment company said in a statement.
The letter goes on to say several motions are still pending in the case, including one to strike some expert testimony from the trial.
“Of course, Live Nation can and will appeal any unfavorable rulings on these motions,” the statement added.
Why it matters: During Live Nation’s recent legal troubles, court records showed two employees joking about ripping off fans with extra fees. The phrase “robbing them blind, baby,” was exchanged on Slack.
From the public’s perspective, this is what the case is all about: A big company making it hard for fans to access the artists they love.
Live Nation’s recent statement doesn’t address any of this. There’s no mention of what their customers mean to them or how live music is something special that brings everyone together.
Rather, it calls into question the jury’s decision based on technical matters using legal terms. In other words, it’s not a statement aimed at members of the public who enjoy going to live shows. If this ruling stands on appeal, Live Nation will need to rehabilitate its image as it moves away from its monopolistic stance and persuade people to attend concerts based on the merits, not on being the only game in town. The confidence that the ruling will be overturned ignores this key audience and could further damage Live Nation’s reputation — which could be an issue in a more competitive environment.
Editor’s Top Reads:
- Artificial intelligence is ready to take your order. This week, Dairy Queen introduced a drive-through chatbot to dozens of new locations across the country. In a press release from Presto, the restaurant chain’s technology partner, a spokesperson played up how this is a good thing for both customers and employees. “We’re committed to delivering an exceptional experience to our Fans and our staff, and we believe Presto can help us delight them even more,” said Kevin Baartman, EVP of IT at Dairy Queen. He added: “With Presto’s AI, we can enable our staff to focus on high-value tasks that ultimately benefit our Fans, with a friendly experience, and high order accuracy.” For the public to get behind more AI in their everyday lives, they need to believe it benefits them and won’t take their job. Baartman addressed these concerns in just two sentences, highlighting a better ordering experience for customers and more time for meaningful work for employees.
- Last year, Yale created a committee to find out who was to blame for the public’s growing mistrust in higher education. The answer, according to the committee’s findings: universities and colleges like Yale. “We must acknowledge how we have fallen short,” Maurie McInnis, Yale’s president, wrote in a statement responding to the result. “That means welcoming as comprehensive a panorama of perspectives as possible — even, and especially, those that may be critical — and facing such criticism with humility and curiosity.” McInnis’s letter outlines several ways the university plans to regain trust, from addressing access and affordability to improving how it communicates its mission to the broader public. Overall, McInnis’s response itself is full of humility and curiosity. It’s also refreshing to know leaders are still capable of admitting that they make mistakes.
- Plenty of brands are avoiding politics these days. Not HelloFresh. Following DoorDash’s delivery stunt to the White House to mark the first anniversary of the “No Tax on Tips” policy, the meal-kit company posted the following on Instagram: “We considered dropping off a HelloFresh box at a very famous house (painted white)… but we didn’t want to overwhelm anyone with ‘step 1: preheat oven.’” The post generated more than 60,000 likes and 2,500 comments — far more activity than usual for the account. The incident shows that sometimes a cheeky remark aimed at the current administration from an unexpected source can pay off in the attention economy. Linking the jab to a relevant event in the news gives the audience context for why the brand is posting this message now, too. One top comment reads: “Hmmm might reactivate my hello fresh account.”
Paul Hiebert is a reporter for PR Daily and Ragan.com. Follow him on LinkedIn.
The post The Scoop: Live Nation vows to keep fighting after antitrust ruling appeared first on PR Daily.
