Metallica Ticket Scandal – In this weeks episode we break down Metallica double dipping by re-selling their own tickets on the secondary market. Also, Bakko shares the tale of his Ron Keel road trip, what to do in Denver when you’re bored, LC and Bakko compare Struts/Glorious Sons shows and more. #YearOfTheCobra #BuyMusic #SupportMusic
Featuring the music:
Wheeler Walker Jr – Redneck Shit
Jerry Lee Lewis – Drinkin’ Wine Spoh-de-doh
Ron Keel Band – Girls Like Me
Tesla – Makin’ Magic
Glorious Sons – Heavy
Metallica – Holier Than Thou
UPDATE SINCE RECORDING EP (FROM ALT-PRESS – READ FULL ARTICLE HERE)
Billboard obtained a recording of an 11-minute phone call from 2017 between Live Nation’s U.S. president of concerts, Bob Roux, longtime Metallica associate Tony DiCioccio and independent promoter Vaughn Millette.
The call came prior to Metallica’s “WorldWired Tour” and allegedly saw DiCioccio asking Roux to set aside tickets for resellers. Apparently, 10,000 tickets were set aside for the opening show because management worried tickets were too cheap.
“After seeing the volume of secondary transactions for that show and the benefit being captured by brokers, the independent consultant [DiCioccio] worked with Live Nation on a unique distribution strategy that used the secondary market as a sales distribution channel for select high-end tickets,” Live Nation said in a statement.
The parties allegedly made a deal with Metallica and Live Nation each receiving 40% of resale revenue with the remaining 20% going to DiCioccio and Millette.
The deal allegedly set aside 4,400 tickets per show, totalling 88,000 tickets.
Executives were reportedly discussing ways they could keep the partnership a secret. In the call, they discuss registering an email address to transfer tickets to so they appear to be for sponsors.
Millette eventually lost money through the deal but to make up for it, he didn’t return some of the revenue. This reportedly bothered DiCioccio and Metallica. He later emailed a recording of his conversation, which leaked to Billboard.
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In 2018, Metallica allegedly partnered with Live Nation again to sell tickets directly through resale markets, this time without Millette.
Representatives for Metallica told Billboard the members weren’t aware of the deal. Despite their statement, DiCioccio is still working with the band as a “ticketing consultant.”
Since all of that, New Jersey congressman Bill Pascrell discussed the “latest scam” involving the situation. He did so before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
“Unbeknownst to fans, apparently Ticketmaster and Live Nation were working with (Metallica’s) management to hold back 88,000 tickets, and post them directly on resale sites,” he said. “That’s sad, but it is true.” The last part was a reference to the band’s 1991 track “Sad But True”.
“Live Nation admitted to the scheme last week and about a dozen artists between 2016 and 2017 could still be doing the same. This is wrong,” he continued.