# Tommy D : His 15 year battle with Live Nation

An episode of [Tony Mantor's : Almost Live..... Nashville](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1751194045), 7 Apr 2026, 27 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/c41d385f-64b2-4514-9415-b4d50130ce01/71cc61b9-b471-4ca5-b439-b4d5016a988e/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=d1742151-672b-4e4d-997b-b4d50130ce0c

David vs. Goliath: Tommy D's 15-Year Battle Against Live Nation In this episode of 'Almost Live Nashville,' host Tony Mantor interviews Tommy D., a fearless concert promoter from New Jersey and founder of Juice Entertainment, who has been entangled in a 15-year legal battle against Live Nation. Tommy shares his journey from the pinnacle of the EDM scene to being blacklisted and nearly homeless after Live Nation intervened in his plans to launch the biggest EDM festival on the East Coast. He delves into his unwavering fight against the industry giant, revealing the mafia-like tactics, antitrust issues, and inflated costs used to monopolize the market. Despite the challenges, Tommy's relentless pursuit for fairness and transparency aims to lower ticket prices, support independent promoters, and give artists the freedom to choose where they perform. Tune in to hear his compelling story and the long-awaited quest for a trial date. Introduction to the Podcast Meet Tommy D: The Concert Promoter The Battle with Live Nation Begins The Festival Dream Shattered Legal Struggles and Homelessness The Long Legal Battle Hopes for Justice and Industry Change Support and Challenges Conclusion and Final Thoughts INTRO/OUTRO Music: T.Wild Mantor Music BMI See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:14] Speaker 1: My career in the entertainment industry has enabled me to
[0:17] Speaker 1: work with a diverse range of talent. Through my years
[0:20] Speaker 1: of experience, I've recognized two essential aspects. Industry professionals, whether
[0:26] Speaker 1: famous stars, or behind the scenes staff have fascinating stories
[0:31] Speaker 1: to tell. Secondly, audiences are eager to listen to these stories,
[0:36] Speaker 1: which offer a glimpse into their lives and the evolution
[0:39] Speaker 1: of their life stories. This podcast aims to share these narratives,
[0:43] Speaker 1: providing information on how they evolved into their chosen career.
[0:47] Speaker 1: We will delve into their journey to stardom, discuss their
[0:50] Speaker 1: struggles and successes, and hear from people who helped them
[0:54] Speaker 1: achieve their goals. Get ready for intriguing behind-the-scenes stories and
[0:58] Speaker 1: insights into the fascinating world of entertainment. Hi, I'm Tony Mantour.
[1:05] Speaker 1: Welcome to Almost Live Nashville. Joining us today is Tommy D,
[1:10] Speaker 1: New Jersey's fearless concert promoter and founder of Juice Entertainment,
[1:14] Speaker 1: and has waged a 15-year war against Live Nation. What
[1:18] Speaker 1: started as a dream to launch the East Coast's biggest
[1:22] Speaker 1: EDM festival at the Meadowlands turned into a brutal takedown,
[1:26] Speaker 1: artists forced to pull out, venues threatened, and a smear
[1:30] Speaker 1: campaign that nearly left him homeless. Refusing to break, Tommy
[1:34] Speaker 1: fired back with an antitrust lawsuit exposing Live Nation's mafia-like tactics,
[1:40] Speaker 1: secret rebates, inflated costs, and chokeholds that limit artists to
[1:44] Speaker 1: perform at different venues. This is truly a David vs.
[1:48] Speaker 1: Goliath scenario. As Tommy D's case barrels towards a jury trial,
[1:54] Speaker 1: it's more than a promoter's revenge plot. It's a clarion
[1:57] Speaker 1: call for fairness in an industry where fans pay premium prices,
[2:02] Speaker 1: artists get squeezed, and independents like him fight to survive.
[2:07] Speaker 1: He has a tremendous story. So before we dive into
[2:10] Speaker 1: our episode, we'll be back with an uninterrupted show right
[2:14] Speaker 1: after a word from our sponsors. Thanks for coming on.
[2:18] Speaker 2: I appreciate you having me.
[2:20] Speaker 1: Oh, it's my pleasure. If you would, give us a
[2:22] Speaker 1: little information on what you're doing.
[2:24] Speaker 3: What I'm currently doing right now is I've been in
[2:27] Speaker 3: a 15-year battle with Live Nation, a New Jersey federal court.
[2:30] Speaker 3: They wiped me out of my in the entertainment industry
[2:34] Speaker 3: 15 years ago. So now I sell cable door to
[2:36] Speaker 3: door to provide for my kids and continue that fight
[2:39] Speaker 3: against Live Nation and pay for the cost to continue
[2:41] Speaker 3: to do so.
[2:42] Speaker 1: So what happened? I mean, we all hear stories about
[2:46] Speaker 1: the music industry and all the shady parts of the
[2:49] Speaker 1: business in the past. Give us a little information on
[2:53] Speaker 1: what it was you were doing before you became entangled
[2:56] Speaker 1: with Live Nation.
[2:57] Speaker 3: Yeah, I started a nightclub business, um, Pretty young age,
[3:00] Speaker 3: lived on my own at 16 years old through house,
[3:03] Speaker 3: crazy house parties to survive, pay my rent. I moved
[3:06] Speaker 3: on there to nightclubs, but I wanted to build a
[3:08] Speaker 3: club empire. And with a lot of hard work and
[3:10] Speaker 3: my team's hard work over many years, I built myself
[3:13] Speaker 3: up to one of the pioneers of EDM music.
[3:16] Speaker 2: It was called house music back in the day. Wasn't
[3:18] Speaker 2: it cool? Out of New Jersey and New York.
[3:19] Speaker 3: Over time, ran almost every major nightclub through New York,
[3:22] Speaker 3: New Jersey, Miami. Won a lot of awards as the
[3:25] Speaker 3: number one sound system in the world. booked pretty much
[3:27] Speaker 3: every major celebrity artist out there, had tons of success.
[3:31] Speaker 3: I got to a point where I couldn't get any
[3:32] Speaker 3: bigger as a promoter. Next step up was into the
[3:36] Speaker 3: festival business. So I saw EDM back in the day
[3:40] Speaker 3: in 2010. Again, it wasn't mainstream yet. So I saw
[3:43] Speaker 3: that it was going to break mainstream. So I signed
[3:46] Speaker 3: an exclusive deal with the State Fair in Meadowlands. It's
[3:49] Speaker 3: the largest fair in the East Coast. It's at the
[3:51] Speaker 3: home of the Jets and Giants MetLife Stadium, anybody that's
[3:54] Speaker 3: not familiar. a 10-year deal to produce all concerts festivals
[3:58] Speaker 3: and I was on the brink of putting on the
[4:00] Speaker 3: largest EDM festival in the east coast and then a
[4:04] Speaker 3: company Live Nation found out about it wiped me out
[4:06] Speaker 3: and that's where that 15-year battle began.
[4:08] Speaker 1: What were some of the acts that you were working
[4:10] Speaker 1: with at that time.
[4:12] Speaker 2: At the EDM Festival or back in the day?
[4:14] Speaker 1: Well, let's just give the audience a little bit of
[4:16] Speaker 1: both that you've worked with.
[4:18] Speaker 2: Absolutely.
[4:18] Speaker 3: So over time, I did everything from Snoop Dogg, the Kardashians,
[4:23] Speaker 3: Kid Cudi, Tiesto, number one DJ in the world at
[4:26] Speaker 3: the time, Chris Brown, Pink, gonna keep going, long list,
[4:29] Speaker 3: you name it.
[4:30] Speaker 1: That's a great list. Now, what happened? You said that
[4:34] Speaker 1: you had this contract. What led up to Live Nation
[4:38] Speaker 1: creating this issue for you that you couldn't get past?
[4:41] Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely. So I didn't even know who Live Nation was.
[4:43] Speaker 3: For 15 years in the business, in the house music
[4:46] Speaker 3: that I was involved in, Live Nation wasn't involved in it.
[4:49] Speaker 3: So I got a call from the owner of the
[4:51] Speaker 3: state firm, Meadowlands. Right at this time, we had our
[4:53] Speaker 3: talent in place, we had our staging in place, contract
[4:56] Speaker 3: in place, everything set up.
[4:58] Speaker 2: It was a turnkey operation. And I got a call
[5:00] Speaker 2: from him, Al Dorso, great guy.
[5:02] Speaker 3: And he told me that Live Nation just came in
[5:04] Speaker 3: and met with him, blocking Tiesto. That was the number
[5:06] Speaker 3: one DJ in the world that I was bringing aboard.
[5:08] Speaker 3: Blocking all our talent from the William Morris Agency. That
[5:11] Speaker 3: was their exclusive agency. Bad-mouthing us to the New Jersey
[5:15] Speaker 3: Sports Authority, that's his landlord, the owner of the Meadowlands,
[5:17] Speaker 3: to get us kicked out and that they were going
[5:19] Speaker 3: to block our tickets from Ticketmaster.
[5:21] Speaker 1: Okay, what happened next after that?
[5:23] Speaker 3: He was super nervous. He was the nicest guy in
[5:25] Speaker 3: the world. He was screaming and yelling at me. I
[5:27] Speaker 3: don't blame him after I found.
[5:28] Speaker 2: Out what happened. So he asked us to.
[5:31] Speaker 3: Go meet Live Nation because they were threatened to block
[5:33] Speaker 3: the whole festival. They said to him if there was
[5:35] Speaker 3: an event of 10,000 people, they had to be involved.
[5:38] Speaker 3: And if they weren't involved, my festival was over. So
[5:41] Speaker 3: I went into the Live Nation headquarters, met with their president,
[5:44] Speaker 3: Jason Miller, and their vice president of talent, John D'Esposito.
[5:47] Speaker 1: How did that go for you?
[5:49] Speaker 3: In that meeting, they came in, attacked like wild animals, said,
[5:52] Speaker 3: we're going to get you kicked out. There's loopholes in
[5:54] Speaker 3: your contract. We're getting you knocked out of the festival.
[5:57] Speaker 3: William Morrissey Agency is our exclusive talent agency. We're blocking
[6:01] Speaker 3: all the artists' dates, like the DJs and artists you're booking,
[6:04] Speaker 3: worldwide if they perform for you.
[6:06] Speaker 2: So they're not going to perform for you. We're going
[6:08] Speaker 2: to go to the sports authority that we own, the Meadowlands.
[6:10] Speaker 3: That's our turf. We're going to get you kicked out
[6:12] Speaker 3: from them. I tried to defend us, defend my partner's reputation.
[6:16] Speaker 3: It's like, yes, though, at the time, my one partner,
[6:19] Speaker 3: John DiMatteo, it was like back in the day, if
[6:21] Speaker 3: you wanted Mike Tyson.
[6:22] Speaker 2: You'd call Don King. If you wanted Tiesto, you'd call DiMatteo.
[6:25] Speaker 2: I tried to, you know, I stuck up for my partners.
[6:28] Speaker 3: They then said if I kicked my two partners out,
[6:31] Speaker 3: John DiMatteo and Vito Bruno, kick them out of the contract,
[6:34] Speaker 3: they would come into the contract, fund the whole thing,
[6:36] Speaker 3: give me 50% of the festival. I only had a
[6:39] Speaker 3: handshake deal at the time with John DiMatteo and Vito Bruno,
[6:42] Speaker 3: but I've always honored my word.
[6:44] Speaker 2: My dad taught me that as a kid.
[6:45] Speaker 3: I told them I'm not kicking these guys out of
[6:47] Speaker 3: a contract because you tell me to do so. And
[6:50] Speaker 3: they then said they would block tickets from Ticketmaster. I said,
[6:52] Speaker 3: how are you going to block tickets from Ticketmaster? I've
[6:54] Speaker 3: done tickets with Ticketmaster all the time.
[6:56] Speaker 2: They said we own them.
[6:57] Speaker 3: I thought they were lying until after I left their
[6:59] Speaker 3: headquarters and I Googled Live Nation bought Ticketmaster and they
[7:02] Speaker 3: had just bought them.
[7:03] Speaker 2: Then I realized I was in a lot of trouble.
[7:05] Speaker 1: Did you talk it over with your partners? What did
[7:07] Speaker 1: they have to say? What did they think?
[7:09] Speaker 3: My partners were super fearful of it. One of the
[7:12] Speaker 3: partners had actually booked Tiesto, did business with Live Nation.
[7:16] Speaker 3: And he said, like, they have a lot of power. Obviously,
[7:18] Speaker 3: they're a huge 800 pound gorilla. And he said, they're
[7:21] Speaker 3: not in EDM, though. You know, they said they've only
[7:23] Speaker 3: done an event with me. They're not in this business.
[7:25] Speaker 2: But everybody was very fearful after their involvement.
[7:27] Speaker 3: They even met with the Live Nation executives and Live
[7:30] Speaker 3: Nation told them that they weren't part of the show.
[7:32] Speaker 3: They were just going to push a button and cancel
[7:34] Speaker 3: it in two seconds. That's what ended up happening.
[7:36] Speaker 1: Okay, that's tough. Now, this is just me speaking out loud.
[7:40] Speaker 1: Why didn't you take the deal, give the perception you
[7:44] Speaker 1: kicked out your partners, then have a side deal where
[7:47] Speaker 1: you still pay them, and it turns out a win-win
[7:50] Speaker 1: for everyone? Live Nation gets what they want, and at
[7:53] Speaker 1: least you're making some money on shows that you had.
[7:56] Speaker 3: Well, I grew up in New Jersey and I came
[7:58] Speaker 3: from nothing. I built myself to the top. And in
[8:01] Speaker 3: New Jersey, I had the mafia threaten me many times.
[8:03] Speaker 3: I had mafia literally put guns in my mouth, threatened,
[8:06] Speaker 3: you know, take me out if.
[8:07] Speaker 2: I didn't pay them. I didn't pay them and they
[8:09] Speaker 2: let me do business.
[8:09] Speaker 3: So I wasn't going to let this bully sit there
[8:11] Speaker 3: and tell me, kick your partners out and have to
[8:14] Speaker 3: cut some shady side deal with these guys because this
[8:17] Speaker 3: billion dollar company wants a festival when they have nothing
[8:19] Speaker 3: to do with EDM.
[8:20] Speaker 2: They were behind the game. Me and my partners were
[8:22] Speaker 2: the pioneers of the industry.
[8:24] Speaker 1: Yeah, okay. I certainly understand that and I totally get it.
[8:28] Speaker 1: But the worst case scenario did happen and you totally
[8:31] Speaker 1: lost your shows. But if you'd made the deal, kept
[8:35] Speaker 1: your shows, you all would be making money even though
[8:38] Speaker 1: not the same amount that you probably were used to doing.
[8:42] Speaker 1: I totally respect how you handled this. So, what led
[8:46] Speaker 1: you down that path when other people might have gone
[8:49] Speaker 1: for the deal to make the money? Well.
[8:53] Speaker 3: Tony, just going back to my upbringing, my dad passed
[8:55] Speaker 3: away at a young age, but my dad always told
[8:57] Speaker 3: me you had a handshake deal.
[8:58] Speaker 2: You never break it.
[8:59] Speaker 1: Yeah, I get that. That was the way I was
[9:01] Speaker 1: raised with my dad as well.
[9:03] Speaker 3: As I got older in life, he was in construction.
[9:06] Speaker 3: I ran into people that saw him, you know, ran
[9:08] Speaker 3: into me and they were like, I had like a
[9:10] Speaker 3: $ 50, 000 deal with your dad to pave the driveway and
[9:13] Speaker 3: no contract, nothing.
[9:14] Speaker 2: And you know what?
[9:14] Speaker 3: He just shook my hand and I always got my money.
[9:16] Speaker 3: So at the time, I never thought of that. I
[9:18] Speaker 3: just thought at the point, I'm not going to kick
[9:20] Speaker 3: my partners out. These people that are coming in there, threatening, attacking,
[9:23] Speaker 3: screaming like maniacs and wild animals to block all my
[9:27] Speaker 3: talent and block all my ticketing.
[9:28] Speaker 2: Why do I want to partner with them? I want
[9:29] Speaker 2: to partner with them in the first place from that.
[9:31] Speaker 2: Why would I want to partner with these people?
[9:33] Speaker 1: Yeah, everything you say makes perfect sense. So what happened next?
[9:38] Speaker 3: After that, the talent agencies, we were at, as you
[9:41] Speaker 3: know from the industry how it works, we were booking flights.
[9:43] Speaker 2: We were right at that stage. It all went dark.
[9:45] Speaker 2: We had millions of dollars.
[9:46] Speaker 3: It doesn't seem like much these days, but back then
[9:49] Speaker 3: in the EDM world, it was a lot of money.
[9:50] Speaker 2: It all went dark. No phone calls were answered.
[9:53] Speaker 3: The festival, we couldn't secure talent, and our contract was
[9:57] Speaker 3: terminated by Aldorso because we were unable to perform the contract.
[10:01] Speaker 3: After that, I lost my career. I allege, and I
[10:04] Speaker 3: will prove a trial. I get a trial day soon.
[10:06] Speaker 3: I was nominated at the time as the number one
[10:08] Speaker 3: promoter by the New Jersey Star Ledger by the fans.
[10:11] Speaker 3: Live Nation had my name removed after they wiped me
[10:14] Speaker 3: out of the festival from being the number one promoter.
[10:17] Speaker 2: From the word.
[10:17] Speaker 3: My reputation then was destroyed in the industry. Agents wouldn't
[10:21] Speaker 3: pick up my call anymore. Club owners wouldn't talk. And
[10:23] Speaker 3: then I was blacklisted and out of the industry.
[10:26] Speaker 1: Okay, so that's a whirlwind of things to happen. When
[10:31] Speaker 1: all the dust settled, they seem like they've won that battle.
[10:37] Speaker 1: You decided not to give up. What was your next
[10:39] Speaker 1: step to take this to the next level?
[10:42] Speaker 3: Yeah, I ended up going homeless from this for about
[10:46] Speaker 3: a month. Then after this had all transpired, then I
[10:49] Speaker 3: decided to get an attorney and take them to court.
[10:52] Speaker 3: My goal at the time, probably being naive, was I
[10:55] Speaker 3: have tape recordings of their top executives confessing to everything
[10:59] Speaker 3: I'm saying right now. Everything I say, I have the receipts.
[11:01] Speaker 3: So I assumed that Live Nation with the tape recordings
[11:04] Speaker 3: would apologize, give me some money to get back my
[11:07] Speaker 3: festival going and give me my festival back.
[11:09] Speaker 2: They promoted the people that did it to VP of talent,
[11:12] Speaker 2: to president of talent. And the guy.
[11:13] Speaker 3: that they call Crazy in a Scene, John D'Esposito, they
[11:16] Speaker 3: produced a huge documentary promoting how crazy in a scene
[11:20] Speaker 3: he was on the Bamboozle Festival. So it was not
[11:23] Speaker 3: how I anticipated it. I mean, we anticipated a trial,
[11:26] Speaker 3: if anything, within one year. It's been 15 years now.
[11:28] Speaker 1: Wow, that's unbelievable. What has been happening over the last
[11:34] Speaker 1: 15 years? What's been going on?
[11:37] Speaker 3: Well, when the case first started off, Live Nation was
[11:40] Speaker 3: ordered by a federal judge, Judge Mannion, to turn over
[11:42] Speaker 3: discovery within 30 days. Live Nation defied that court order
[11:46] Speaker 3: for over, I believe, three to four years. My lawyers
[11:49] Speaker 3: kept going back to the court asking. Finally, the lawyer,
[11:52] Speaker 3: his name was David at the time, said, we know
[11:53] Speaker 3: we're like wearing out of our welcome, the plaintiffs, but
[11:56] Speaker 3: we're entitled to this discovery. Live Nation's only turned over 5%
[11:59] Speaker 3: of discovery to this day, which doesn't surprise me because
[12:02] Speaker 3: recently in recent times, the Senate subpoenaed them for information.
[12:06] Speaker 3: I don't think they ever turned that over. So we
[12:07] Speaker 3: finally ran out of money to be able to fighting
[12:09] Speaker 3: over the discovery. So we had to continue the case
[12:11] Speaker 3: after that with only 5% of the discovery.
[12:14] Speaker 1: Unfortunately, that's what these big companies do. They rely on
[12:18] Speaker 1: their big pockets to wear down the opposition, hoping that
[12:23] Speaker 1: you'll either give in or settle. The fact that you've
[12:26] Speaker 1: lasted 15 years is a testament to you seeing this
[12:31] Speaker 1: all the way through to the end. Do you have
[12:33] Speaker 1: the same lawyer or has anything changed there?
[12:37] Speaker 3: Yeah, I have a new lawyer for a long period
[12:39] Speaker 3: of time, Andrew Smith, really good attorney, but it's only
[12:41] Speaker 3: one attorney versus 2000 attorneys of Live Nation from Greenberg,
[12:45] Speaker 3: Troy and 2000 paralegals.
[12:46] Speaker 2: So, you know, it's a tough fight.
[12:48] Speaker 3: I've continued the fight and I'm continuing the fight now
[12:50] Speaker 3: for the scene, for the fans, for the independent promoters.
[12:53] Speaker 2: And it's been a long time, though. It's 15 years.
[12:55] Speaker 1: 15 years is a very long time. Do you have
[12:59] Speaker 1: a trial date set yet? What's happening?
[13:02] Speaker 3: I had a firm trial date of March, was it 2024?
[13:05] Speaker 3: And then Live Nation wanted another mediation for the 15th time.
[13:09] Speaker 2: So respectfully, the court did so, and I respect the court.
[13:12] Speaker 3: Now I'm set up for November 18th for oral arguments
[13:16] Speaker 3: where Live Nation is trying to eliminate. I have 500
[13:20] Speaker 3: trial exhibits, plenty of witnesses. Live Nation has zero exhibits
[13:24] Speaker 3: and zero witnesses. They're trying to eliminate 497 of those
[13:27] Speaker 3: 500 documents. It was October the hearing.
[13:30] Speaker 2: It got moved. So it's November 18th, New Jersey Federal Court.
[13:33] Speaker 1: Is that this year?
[13:34] Speaker 2: Yes, this year coming up.
[13:36] Speaker 1: With all this happening, what does your lawyer say? I mean,
[13:40] Speaker 1: he's entrenched in this just as much as you are now.
[13:44] Speaker 1: Has he given you any thoughts? What is his outlook
[13:48] Speaker 1: for the future of this case?
[13:50] Speaker 2: My lawyer.
[13:51] Speaker 3: seeing the information, seeing my case, knows my case is
[13:54] Speaker 3: really good, knows I have a ton of evidence in
[13:56] Speaker 3: my case supporting me. He respects that I want to
[13:59] Speaker 3: take the case to trial. He respects that I don't
[14:02] Speaker 3: want to be acquired or hired or.
[14:04] Speaker 2: Just take a payout like everybody else.
[14:05] Speaker 3: And he respects that I want to take this to
[14:07] Speaker 3: a jury and that I want the evidence to be
[14:09] Speaker 3: exposed to the public.
[14:10] Speaker 2: And a lot of evidence I have.
[14:12] Speaker 3: That was uncovered by an expert report that was suppressed
[14:15] Speaker 3: by the late Congressman Bill Pasquale out of New Jersey
[14:17] Speaker 3: that he sent to the DOJ and the United States Senate,
[14:20] Speaker 3: which I allege Live Nation runs a fraudulent, basically a
[14:23] Speaker 3: racket of a business with two sets of bucks.
[14:25] Speaker 2: He understands that I'm fighting.
[14:26] Speaker 3: This now for a greater cause for fans' high ticket
[14:30] Speaker 3: prices that I believe with my information exposed that overnight
[14:34] Speaker 3: the ticket prices would lower in the United States 30
[14:36] Speaker 3: to 40 percent. So he respects my cause that I'm
[14:39] Speaker 3: fighting this for independent promoters. artists and really for fans.
[14:43] Speaker 3: I was an early victim of the Live Nation Ticketmaster merger,
[14:46] Speaker 3: but there's victims every day. And the fans are the
[14:49] Speaker 3: biggest victim that sit on a queue line every day.
[14:51] Speaker 2: And all of a sudden, the ticket's $ 850 for a
[14:54] Speaker 2: nosebleed seat. He respects my cause and he's going with
[14:57] Speaker 2: me all the way with it. And I really appreciate that.
[15:00] Speaker 1: With all the years, with all the people you've talked with,
[15:04] Speaker 1: with all the artists you've talked with, have you got
[15:07] Speaker 1: any support from people within the business that say, hey,
[15:11] Speaker 1: I want to help you beat them?
[15:14] Speaker 2: No, I have people come up to me all the time.
[15:16] Speaker 2: on the side telling me, I really appreciate what you're doing.
[15:19] Speaker 2: I really respect what you're doing. Like, you're awesome. Like,
[15:22] Speaker 2: you've taught this for 15 years. Nobody would do this.
[15:24] Speaker 2: And they're like, I'd love to come out and probably
[15:26] Speaker 2: support you, but I can't. And I said, I totally understand.
[15:28] Speaker 3: Because if you're an artist and you come out and
[15:30] Speaker 3: support me, you're not going to have a show. If
[15:32] Speaker 3: you're an independent promoter, then you don't work for them already.
[15:35] Speaker 3: You're going to end up exactly where I am selling cable.
[15:37] Speaker 3: And I don't want to, you know, that's still just
[15:39] Speaker 3: what it is. So I don't blame the artists for
[15:41] Speaker 3: not coming out and saying it publicly. I know Kid
[15:43] Speaker 3: Rock recently just came out, but he has some politics
[15:45] Speaker 3: that help him, I believe. You know, I don't blame
[15:47] Speaker 3: the artists and I don't blame the independent promoters for
[15:49] Speaker 3: not speaking out publicly for me. A few have, but
[15:52] Speaker 3: Moose Root and, but behind the scenes, they're all supporting
[15:55] Speaker 3: for me and rooting for me. They just, you know,
[15:57] Speaker 3: and I tell them, I understand. I don't want you
[15:59] Speaker 3: to come speak out for me because I don't want
[16:01] Speaker 3: you to be, have no money, you know, and no shows.
[16:04] Speaker 1: What about others that have had issues with them? It
[16:08] Speaker 1: seems that if everyone got together, there could be a
[16:11] Speaker 1: class action lawsuit against them, and it would be a
[16:15] Speaker 1: bigger situation than just one person against a big giant
[16:19] Speaker 1: like them.
[16:20] Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm not a lawyer.
[16:22] Speaker 3: I don't know on that side with class action stuff.
[16:24] Speaker 3: I just know my resources were limited. I didn't have
[16:27] Speaker 3: the money of a live nation, obviously.
[16:29] Speaker 1: Yeah, right, right.
[16:30] Speaker 2: So I didn't join with any. Nobody's joined it, joined
[16:34] Speaker 2: in my suit.
[16:35] Speaker 1: So it's basically you against the world.
[16:38] Speaker 3: Yeah, it's me against Lab Nation, which is as powerful
[16:43] Speaker 3: as the world, I guess you can say these days.
[16:45] Speaker 1: Yeah, pretty much when you're against a huge company like that. Now,
[16:49] Speaker 1: are you OK with everything you're saying here? Hopefully what
[16:54] Speaker 1: you're doing is putting more information out there. But the
[16:58] Speaker 1: last thing I want is this to hurt you in
[17:01] Speaker 1: any way with the suit that you've got going.
[17:04] Speaker 2: Well, everything I'm saying, I'm saying of public information.
[17:08] Speaker 1: OK.
[17:08] Speaker 3: It's either on Pacer, put out by a congressman, that report,
[17:12] Speaker 3: which alleges that Live Nation runs an illegal business in
[17:15] Speaker 3: the billions of dollars. put out by a congressman when
[17:18] Speaker 3: Live Nation's attorneys accidentally uploaded it on Pacer. So everything
[17:22] Speaker 3: I'm saying is the truth, and everything that I'm saying
[17:24] Speaker 3: has been public. I have all the receipts to back
[17:27] Speaker 3: that up, but anything else private, I'm not sharing that
[17:30] Speaker 3: out in the public domain.
[17:31] Speaker 2: That's for trial.
[17:32] Speaker 1: Right, right. That makes great sense. Now, what are the
[17:36] Speaker 1: expectations that you have for the first court appearance that
[17:42] Speaker 1: you have coming up very, very soon?
[17:44] Speaker 2: I know the courts are very busy.
[17:45] Speaker 3: I respect that, and I respect the courts, but I'm
[17:48] Speaker 3: hoping to get a trial date. I didn't speak to
[17:50] Speaker 3: the press, just so you know, until in the last year.
[17:53] Speaker 3: I was quiet, not a peep out of me. My
[17:56] Speaker 3: fear is my witnesses are getting old. You know the
[17:58] Speaker 3: club industry, you know how it works, and not vegetarians,
[18:02] Speaker 3: and a lot of people.
[18:04] Speaker 2: Party a lot.
[18:05] Speaker 3: Some of them were old at the time. 15 years later.
[18:09] Speaker 3: So I decided to come out and speak publicly because
[18:11] Speaker 3: my fear if my witnesses get older, you know, unable
[18:14] Speaker 3: to testify, then Lab Nation, they're delayed, delay, pressure, confused.
[18:18] Speaker 3: It wins. And that's the only way I lose a trial. Otherwise,
[18:21] Speaker 3: I guarantee I win the trial at 100 percent.
[18:23] Speaker 1: I would think that you could get their testimony in
[18:26] Speaker 1: writing almost like a dying declaration in case the worst
[18:31] Speaker 1: case was to happen. At least that way you're covered.
[18:35] Speaker 1: This way, the evidence is there for people to see.
[18:38] Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely. Even like someone asked me that question before.
[18:42] Speaker 2: It's a really good one.
[18:43] Speaker 3: Depositions you can use, but trial strategy from my attorneys
[18:47] Speaker 3: where you don't want to ask everybody every single question
[18:50] Speaker 3: or they're in.
[18:50] Speaker 2: Front of a jury. You want to ask the very minimal.
[18:53] Speaker 3: Then when you get in front of a jury, you
[18:54] Speaker 3: want to ask them a real question because you know what?
[18:56] Speaker 2: They said people tell the truth. when they're sitting in
[18:58] Speaker 2: front of a drawer.
[18:59] Speaker 3: So that was, that's my, that's been the strategy of me,
[19:01] Speaker 3: of my legal team.
[19:02] Speaker 2: And I'll leave that in their hands, but I respect it.
[19:05] Speaker 1: Sure. Absolutely. Now you're hoping to get a trial date
[19:09] Speaker 1: very soon. What is your lawyer telling you now? What
[19:13] Speaker 1: is he thinking? I mean, you've got your wishes and
[19:16] Speaker 1: then you've got your reality. What's the reality of what
[19:20] Speaker 1: he's telling you and what he's hoping will happen?
[19:23] Speaker 3: He says my case is overwhelming in strength and trial date.
[19:26] Speaker 3: We know the courts are busy and we respect it,
[19:28] Speaker 3: but nobody could tell on a trial date. It's been
[19:31] Speaker 3: 15 years, so it's hard to say.
[19:32] Speaker 1: Yeah, 15 years is a long time. You think they
[19:36] Speaker 1: would want to get this off the dockets now just
[19:39] Speaker 1: because of the length of time it's been sitting there.
[19:41] Speaker 1: The one thing they can say about you is you
[19:44] Speaker 1: have been consistent and stuck with the whole program.
[19:47] Speaker 2: Yeah, I've looked it up. I know last.
[19:56] Speaker 3: I can't even find on a Google search a case
[19:58] Speaker 3: older than mine in the United States that's not on appeal.
[20:01] Speaker 3: I'm not saying it's not out there. Again, we respect
[20:03] Speaker 3: the courts. I blame Live Nation, not the court. Live
[20:06] Speaker 3: Nation's gone just delay, delay, confuse, you know, continuance. You know,
[20:11] Speaker 3: I've been discovery. They turned 5% over.
[20:14] Speaker 2: We gave everything. We gave emails with my business partners,
[20:17] Speaker 2: like talking to their moms. We gave everything over, nothing
[20:20] Speaker 2: to hide and got massive amount of trial exhibits and
[20:23] Speaker 2: really want to just bring it in front of a
[20:24] Speaker 2: jury and want to have it out there.
[20:25] Speaker 3: For the public to see. And so it can really
[20:27] Speaker 3: help the fans. And I believe it's going to really
[20:29] Speaker 3: help lower the ticket prices, the evidence from my case.
[20:32] Speaker 1: Yeah, you stuck with it probably longer than anyone would
[20:36] Speaker 1: even think about doing it. Now, for the listeners that
[20:40] Speaker 1: are listening to this, where can they find more information
[20:45] Speaker 1: about what you're doing, what you've been through? So they
[20:49] Speaker 1: can get a better idea of what you've actually been
[20:53] Speaker 1: through over the last 15 years in fighting this.
[20:56] Speaker 2: Yeah, they can go on my website, TommyDJuiceEntertainment.com.
[21:00] Speaker 3: They can go on there, TommyDJuiceEntertainment.com. And I just ask
[21:04] Speaker 3: for their support. If you want lower ticket prices, you
[21:07] Speaker 3: want a fairer scene where independent promoters can thrive, I
[21:10] Speaker 3: ask for their support. An artist can pick where they
[21:12] Speaker 3: want to perform, not just one monopoly that which there
[21:15] Speaker 3: is right now.
[21:15] Speaker 1: Do you have links on your site where they can
[21:19] Speaker 1: go to find out more information? And a lot of
[21:22] Speaker 1: things that you're saying, I know are true, but they
[21:25] Speaker 1: need to see it in other areas so that way
[21:28] Speaker 1: they can follow you.
[21:29] Speaker 2: Yeah, there's some links on there.
[21:30] Speaker 3: It goes to my TikTok, other ones on there.
[21:33] Speaker 2: But that's a great point, Tony.
[21:34] Speaker 3: I'll actually update it a little bit more on a
[21:36] Speaker 3: little bit more of the background history of myself.
[21:38] Speaker 2: I'll update it a little bit more.
[21:39] Speaker 1: Yeah, I think that it is very important for them
[21:43] Speaker 1: to hear and see what you've been through. This music
[21:46] Speaker 1: business has a lot of things in it over the
[21:49] Speaker 1: past 50 years or so that have not been good.
[21:53] Speaker 1: It's been taking a lot of research for people to
[21:56] Speaker 1: figure this out. So I think that this is a
[21:58] Speaker 1: great thing for you to put out there so they
[22:01] Speaker 1: can follow you. Not only can they follow you, but
[22:05] Speaker 1: they can also follow any links that you might have
[22:08] Speaker 1: on there that will give them the information that they
[22:11] Speaker 1: need to know, too.
[22:12] Speaker 3: Yeah, I have links on there. We're Conger and Pascrell.com.
[22:15] Speaker 3: found my expert report that was suppressed by Live Nation
[22:18] Speaker 3: and accidentally uploaded to the court where he sent it
[22:20] Speaker 3: to the DOJ and the Senate. Those links are all
[22:23] Speaker 3: on my website. There's a lot of articles that were
[22:25] Speaker 3: written about my case on there. Links are on my
[22:27] Speaker 3: website and they can also Google my name out there.
[22:30] Speaker 3: There's a pretty decent amount of information.
[22:32] Speaker 1: Yeah, that's great. I think the more information that people have,
[22:35] Speaker 1: the better it is for everyone. Now, what do you
[22:39] Speaker 1: think is important What is important for the listeners to
[22:44] Speaker 1: take away from everything that you've been through, everything that
[22:48] Speaker 1: you're going through right now? What's important for them to
[22:52] Speaker 1: gain for knowledge so that they will follow this all
[22:56] Speaker 1: the way to the end right along with you?
[22:58] Speaker 2: I think the.
[23:00] Speaker 3: Most important thing that they can take away from this
[23:03] Speaker 3: is I'm sticking up and I've fought this for 15 years.
[23:07] Speaker 3: In the beginning, it was an economic dispute. I did
[23:09] Speaker 3: it to get my money and get my festival back.
[23:12] Speaker 3: Over time, now I felt I had a moral obligation
[23:15] Speaker 3: after the information that I believe I'm one of the
[23:17] Speaker 3: only people that have Live Nation's back set of books that.
[23:20] Speaker 2: I allege is a racket.
[23:21] Speaker 3: I've decided that I'm going to fight this and continue this.
[23:24] Speaker 3: And I'm continuing it because of the fans, the artists,
[23:27] Speaker 3: independent promoters. I believe the scene that Live Nation's killed
[23:30] Speaker 3: and the ever increasing ticket prices. Live Nation inflation. It's
[23:33] Speaker 3: artificially uncreated. And the evidence that I have off their cookbooks,
[23:37] Speaker 3: I know is the reason I believe what I allege
[23:38] Speaker 3: and I'll prove it at trial. is the reason so.
[23:40] Speaker 3: So I'm fighting for now for fans to be able
[23:43] Speaker 3: to get lower ticket prices. Look, their CEO just went
[23:45] Speaker 3: out on national TV and said, let's raise ticket prices.
[23:48] Speaker 3: How many of your listeners are real happy or in
[23:50] Speaker 3: a stadium? If he jumps out of MetLife Stadium now,
[23:52] Speaker 3: Michael Rapinoe says, let's raise ticket prices. I don't think
[23:55] Speaker 3: fans are going to be really happy about that. So
[23:56] Speaker 3: I'm fighting this for the fans now, and I'm fighting
[24:00] Speaker 3: this for other independent promoters.
[24:02] Speaker 2: I'm fighting this. I have kids, an 11-year-old who wants
[24:04] Speaker 2: to run concerts. I'm telling him, go to college. I
[24:06] Speaker 2: didn't go to college.
[24:07] Speaker 3: But you can't run the scene that I did. He's like, yeah,
[24:09] Speaker 3: you're chilling with Snoop Dogg. Look at those pictures over there.
[24:11] Speaker 3: I said, yeah, I went from chilling with Snoop Dogg,
[24:14] Speaker 3: drinking champagne to being homeless within a year.
[24:17] Speaker 2: I said, so you know what? You can't do that.
[24:19] Speaker 3: You're not able to do that in this industry unless
[24:21] Speaker 3: something happens with your dad's case or the Department of Justice.
[24:24] Speaker 3: So I'm fighting this for other people's kids too, not
[24:27] Speaker 3: just my own. And I'm really fighting this for the
[24:29] Speaker 3: fans and for the industry that I love and music
[24:31] Speaker 3: that I love and a fair industry again. So artists
[24:34] Speaker 3: can pick which promoter they want to play for. Instead
[24:37] Speaker 3: of like, you know, how nice would it be if
[24:39] Speaker 3: there's 10 different promoters and you can pick who has
[24:42] Speaker 3: better production, who has better costs, who has better safety,
[24:45] Speaker 3: safer security?
[24:46] Speaker 2: You know, that's the real tragedy. But they can't do so.
[24:49] Speaker 2: And I don't blame the artist. You have one choice.
[24:51] Speaker 2: You want a worldwide stadium tour? You got to be
[24:53] Speaker 2: with Lab Nation and Ticketmaster. There's no one else.
[24:55] Speaker 3: For the scene that I love and that created me,
[24:58] Speaker 3: who I became. I'm fighting it for that as well.
[25:00] Speaker 1: Yeah, I think that's awesome. Now, you say you have
[25:03] Speaker 1: a lot of people backing you. Have you had the opposite?
[25:07] Speaker 1: Have you had people going, hey, what the hell are
[25:10] Speaker 1: you doing? You're out there making noise. You're disrupting everything.
[25:15] Speaker 1: You're putting yourself in danger. Have you had that happen
[25:19] Speaker 1: to you?
[25:19] Speaker 3: Well, I've definitely had people telling me, hey, you're putting
[25:24] Speaker 3: yourself in danger doing this with a $ 36 billion company.
[25:27] Speaker 2: That's for sure.
[25:28] Speaker 3: Just even family members. I've had people that deal with
[25:32] Speaker 3: the secondary market. Now, actually, some of them are rallying
[25:35] Speaker 3: around my side after they realized what I stand for
[25:37] Speaker 3: and learned a little bit more about my case. Because
[25:40] Speaker 3: I believe the secondary market needs to be fixed as well.
[25:43] Speaker 3: But I feel like the way I mentioned, I break
[25:45] Speaker 3: it down to them and now they respect my cause.
[25:47] Speaker 3: I'm like, look, to me, it's like a bank robbery.
[25:50] Speaker 3: And the one I allege is robbing the bank is
[25:52] Speaker 3: Live Nation. The guy that's holding the van door open,
[25:54] Speaker 3: that's the scalper.
[25:55] Speaker 2: He should be prosecuted. He should go to jail.
[25:57] Speaker 3: So I am in support of changes in the secondary
[26:00] Speaker 3: market that need to be made. Some of those ones
[26:02] Speaker 3: had stood up against me. Now a lot of them
[26:04] Speaker 3: are actually understanding what I stand for and that I
[26:06] Speaker 3: don't support scalpers because I don't like scalpers.
[26:08] Speaker 2: They're now actually starting to rally behind me.
[26:10] Speaker 1: Well, that's good. It's always nice to have people within
[26:13] Speaker 1: the industry supporting you on what you're trying to do,
[26:16] Speaker 1: because ultimately, if you win, then everyone else will win
[26:21] Speaker 1: right along with you. Needless to say, I'm definitely wishing
[26:24] Speaker 1: you all the best and hoping that this can get
[26:27] Speaker 1: over for you very soon. So I really appreciate you
[26:30] Speaker 1: taking the time to join us today and tell us
[26:33] Speaker 1: your story.
[26:34] Speaker 2: Yeah, thank you. Thank you very much for having me on.
[26:37] Speaker 2: And it's a pleasure. And congratulations on how well your
[26:41] Speaker 2: show is doing.
[26:42] Speaker 1: Oh, it's been my pleasure. Thanks again. Thanks for joining
[26:55] Speaker 1: us today. We hope you enjoyed the show. This has
[27:00] Speaker 1: been a Tony Mantour production. For more information, contact media
[27:05] Speaker 1: at platomusic.com.

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