Technology
States’ anti-monopoly case against Live Nation continues Monday
The Live Nation-Ticketmaster trial is back on. Dozens of states are expected to move forward with their claims against the company’s alleged concert industry monopoly beginning on Monday, following a brief hearing on Friday.
The Justice Department and a handful of states have accepted settlements with the company, but the majority of the 40 state and district attorney general plaintiffs — as of now — are continuing their fight in court. The states that are pressing forward withdrew their motion for a mistrial, filed after the DOJ announced its settlement in court Monday, and showed up with new outside counsel to lead their trial team in the absence of the federal litigators. The judge also said that jurors will be allowed to see internal chats between Live Nation employees who bragged about how they “gouge” fans, overruling opposition from the company.
In a hearing Friday that lasted less than an hour, Judge Arun Subramanian — visibly cheerier than he was earlier this week when he scolded attorneys for failing to inform him of an impending settlement earlier — sorted through trial logistics and issued orders on exhibits. In order to take over the case, the now-departed DOJ trial team continued to work to transfer information the proceeding states would need at trial, the states’ co-lead attorney Jonathan Hatch said. But there are still some things left in the DOJ database that haven’t yet transferred, he said. At the judge’s request, the DOJ agreed to ensure that access wasn’t cut off until the states and their counsel got everything they needed.
Arkansas, Iowa, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and South Dakota have all either signed an agreement similar to the DOJ’s with Live Nation, or are close to doing so. South Carolina is continuing to negotiate with the company, and may continue with the litigation unless the state reaches an agreement on its monetary demands before then. An attorney speaking on behalf of these states said South Carolina had reached an agreement in principle on updated injunctive terms of the settlement, though it’s not clear what those are. That leaves more than 30 state AGs still involved in the litigation, unless things change before Monday.
The trial is expected to pick up with the testimony of AEG COO Jay Marciano, who was the last witness to be questioned by a DOJ trial lawyer in the case. Marciano was only partway through his testimony when court adjourned for the day, so the states will likely need to refresh the jurors’ memories, after their new trial team introduces themselves. AEG is a competitor to Live Nation-Ticketmaster and a similarly integrated ticketing and live events promotion business.
The judge also allowed several exhibits containing Slack messages between Live Nation employees to be shown to the jury, after the company sought to exclude them. The messages came to light this week after the judge unsealed them following requests from a group of media outlets.
“The messages included two-then regional directors … boasting about how they ‘gouge’ fans with ancillary costs”
The messages from 2022 included two then-regional directors for ticketing at the company’s amphitheatres boasting about how they “gouge” fans with ancillary costs, like for parking or VIP access, and ridiculing fans as “stupid” and saying Live Nation was “robbing them blind.” Live Nation spokesperson Emily Wofford described the exchange as one from a “junior staffer to a friend” and said it “absolutely does not reflect our values or how we operate.” In a brief opposing the motion to exclude the chats, however, the plaintiffs say these “junior” employees now hold important positions at the company: one is the head of ticketing for the arm of Live Nation that operates its amphitheatres, and the other is a senior director of ticketing for Live Nation’s Capital Region.
“Because this was a private Slack message, leadership learned of this when the public did, and will be looking into the matter promptly,” Wofford said in a statement. “Our business only works when fans have great experiences, which is why we’ve capped amphitheater venue fees at 15% and have invested $1 billion in the last 18 months into U.S. venues and fan amenities.”
Live Nation had sought to exclude the exhibits from being shown to the jury, with its attorneys arguing they were simply “informal Slack messages” without relevance to the case. Attorneys for the government argued the messages represent “candid, internal messages” that rebut the company’s claim that it invests in amphitheaters to give fans and artists a great choice of where to see a concert. The judge agreed that Live Nation had “opened the door” to this kind of evidence by bringing up the quality of fan experiences at its venues in its opening statement.
In any event, the show will go on beginning Monday morning.
Google’s AI Overviews are running into an interesting problem right now. Earlier on Friday, if you searched for the term “disregard,” the AI Overview section would include a response like what you’d see from a more traditional AI chatbot instead of the typical AI summary, as spotted on X. As you can see in the image at the top of this story, I got an AI Overview response that said, “Got it. If you need anything else or have a new question later, just let me know!”
As of Friday afternoon, however, Google isn’t showing an AI Overview for the term “disregard” at all — instead, it shows a list of news stories about the issue first. Google hasn’t replied to our requests for comment. In a statement to Android Authority, a spokesperson said that “We’re aware that AI Overviews are misinterpreting some action-related queries, and we’re working on a fix, which will roll out soon.”
AI Overviews haven’t just been tripping up over the word “disregard.” When searching for “ignore,” Google’s AI Overview section showed the following message to a Verge colleague:
Message received! I’m here and ready to help. What would you like to focus on today? Just let me know if there’s a specific topic, task, or question you’d like to explore.
When they searched “skip,” the AI Overview section said:
It looks like your message was just a test or a typo! Feel free to ask a question, share a prompt, or let me know how I can help you with your tasks today. I’m ready whenever you are!
As of Friday afternoon, Google is still showing me AI Overviews with broken responses when I search for “ignore” and “skip.”
As funny as this all is, it’s almost certainly just some kind of bug — I expect Google will fix it soon enough. Maybe Google Search itself is tired after everything that happened at Google I/O.
Updates, May 22nd: Google now isn’t showing AI Overviews for “disregard.” Also added a Google statement.
Paul Schrader attends a special screening of “Oh, Canada” at IFC Center in New York City on Dec. 5, 2024. (Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)
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IN TODAY’S NEWSLETTER:
– Oscar-nominated filmmaker disappointed his AI girlfriend dumped him
– AI layoffs may be backfiring on companies
– Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang warns China has ‘all the chips they need’ despite US bans
BAD BREAK-UP: Dating in the digital era isn’t easy, as one Oscar-nominated filmmaker learned the hard way. Paul Schrader, the screenwriter of Martin Scorsese classics like “Taxi Driver” and “Raging Bull,” revealed in a Facebook post that he had dabbled in developing an “AI girlfriend.”
ROI MIA: A lot of workers have had the same uneasy thought lately: “Is AI coming for my job?” It is a fair question. Companies keep talking about automation, AI agents and lower costs. Some workers hear that and wonder whether their next performance review will come with a chatbot-shaped shadow in the room. However, a new Gartner study suggests the story may be more complicated. Many companies are cutting jobs while adopting AI, but those cuts are not clearly producing better returns.
‘ALL THE CHIPS THEY NEED’: In a stark warning to Washington policymakers, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang revealed that U.S. technology export bans may be triggering unintended consequences, declaring that China-backed rival Huawei is actively “flourishing in our absence.”
TOUGH CROWD: Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt was met with boos during a University of Arizona commencement speech after discussing artificial intelligence and fears the technology could reshape – or replace – parts of the workforce.
PAINFUL ERROR: Students at Glendale Community College revolted against AI when it was revealed during their graduation ceremony that the robot tasked with announcing the names of the new graduates experienced a glitch and skipped over hundreds of students who were set to hear their names as they walked across the stage.
BATTLE OF THE TITANS: A federal jury ruled against Elon Musk in his lawsuit accusing OpenAI of abandoning its nonprofit roots, finding that neither the tech company nor CEO Sam Altman could be held liable in the matter because Musk waited too long to bring the case.
NEXT-GEN WARFARE: A top U.S. defense contractor pulled back the curtain on AI-powered systems designed to hunt down and destroy swarms of enemy drones as the U.S. rapidly expands its next-generation warfighting capabilities.
‘UNSETTLING’: Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters on Wednesday walked back comments he made at an investor event Tuesday when he said the bank plans to cut thousands of jobs as it replaces what he called “lower-value human capital” with tech powered by artificial intelligence (AI).
OPINION: There’s a revolution underway in American education, and first lady Melania Trump and the White House are leading the way, Arthur Herman and Beth Herman write.
SLOW DOWN: Waymo is temporarily halting freeway operations for its robotaxi service in several U.S. markets as the company works to address performance issues in construction zones, FOX Business has learned.
‘NOT GOING AWAY’: New York Times staffers got up from their workspaces inside the paper’s New York City headquarters on Wednesday and gathered outside to rally against management, demanding a fair contract and insisting the company puts profits over people. The event, dubbed “Rally for a Fair Contract,” came as the Times Guild is fighting for protections against artificial intelligence, guaranteed hybrid work, affordable health care, pay increases that match the rising cost of living and keeping work within the union.
SWEET MOVE: A Florida community has deployed AI-powered robotic beehives as declining bee populations continue raising concerns about the future of the US food supply.
BLOCKBUSTER DEAL: NextEra Energy is making a massive $66.8 billion bet that America’s artificial intelligence boom will drive a historic surge in electricity demand, announcing plans to acquire Dominion Energy to create the world’s largest regulated utility by market value.
BEAM ME UP: New York City’s LaGuardia Airport is bringing science fiction to the terminal with the debut of an AI-powered hologram concierge designed to help travelers find gates, lounges and baggage claim through face-to-face conversations.
DISAPPEARING ACT: Chatting with AI can feel casual until the question gets personal. Maybe you want to ask about a health concern. Maybe you need help understanding a loan. Or maybe you want career advice without feeling like your question is sitting in a data file somewhere. That is the idea behind Incognito Chat with Meta AI, a new private chat mode Meta says is coming to WhatsApp and the Meta AI app.
APP OVERHAUL: Airbnb is pushing far beyond home rentals, rolling out airport pickups, grocery delivery, luggage storage, car rentals, boutique hotels and exclusive travel experiences as it expands deeper into travel services. The app is also adding boutique and independent hotels in major cities including New York, Paris, London, Rome and Singapore, alongside new AI-powered features like review summaries, listing comparisons and smarter customer support tools.
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With Memorial day weekend kicking off the travel season, we’re seeing a lot of deals pop up on travel gadgets, from portable power banks to noise-canceling headphones. One of the best right now is Twelve South’s AirFly Pro 2 Bluetooth adapter, which lets you use your wireless headphones with in-flight entertainment systems so you can enjoy your flight a little more. It’s currently down to $49.99 ($10 off) at Amazon and directly from Twelve South, which is one of its best prices to date.
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