in a federal lawsuit against Live Nation/Ticket- master alleging the corporation maintains an unfair monopoly in live events. Forty state attorneys general have joined the suit in a show of bipartisan agreement. In a time of intense polarization, Americans seem united in one position: Ticket fees suck. That’s why Leiken is frustrated people who hate 40% service fees often fail to spot the root cause when it’s right in front of them: Live Nation, which he refers to by the name of its merger partner, Ticketmaster. “A lot of people can’t put two and two together. Everybody knows that something’s wrong when a show goes on sale and all of a sudden the price spikes to $3,500. People know something’s wrong but they don’t know why. And the justice department might finally be getting a clue.” Live Nation’s supposed playbook has played out in the most prominent music scenes around the country: Nashville, D.C. and Austin. Philip Graham’s Ear Trumpet Labs in inner Northeast Portland manufactures microphones that retail for around $600 to $700 and these handmade items are especially popular with acoustic artists. Graham hears from lots of musicians from around the country, especially from Nashville aka Music City USA, and they say the same things about Live Nation. “I’m not joking when I say that in the last five to 10 years, there are probably half to a third as many independent venues nationwide. That’s how steep the decline has been,” he says. Until a month ago, Portland was the last major city without a Live Nation venue. Live to Regret Over the last two years, public hearings were held and vocal opposition was heard at each. The matter came to a head in mid-September at two crucial public hearings. Prosper Portland first considered the sale of the land to Beam and Colas. The next day, the Portland City Council unanimously rejected a lastditch land-use appeal by music industry- advocacy group MusicPortland. Beam and Colas came to the Prosper Portland hearing with what they said were hard-won concessions from Live Nation. They include a promise to require so-called proximity clauses and a commitment to host community events. But there’s little faith in the music community that Live Nation will live up to its promises. In the end, leaders were comfortable with concessions made by Live Nation despite reservations. Despite their unanimous support for the project, some commission members seemed agonized by their vote. When he voted in favor of the sale, Prosper Portland commissioner Marcelino Alvarez said his “inner 17-year-old self” was yelling at him. That sentiment is reminiscent of Portland city commissioner Steve Novick, who has spoken about the regret he felt after allowing Uber to establish in Portland a decade ago when he oversaw the city’s transportation bureau. Now Novick is among the dozens running for a seat on the freshly reconfigured Portland City Council. Another is Jamie Dunphy, a former policy advisor to Nick Fish and a leader of MusicPortland, which organized opposition to the Beam/Colas/ Live Nation proposal. A musician himself, Dunphy has made opposition to Live Nation central to his campaign. MusicPortland has polled most council candidates about Live Nation and plans to issue endorsements based on the results. More the Merrier Live Nation had tried for years to get into Portland, at one point going several steps toward building a House of Blues in the Lloyd Center. It wasn’t alone. The company’s top competitor, Anschutz Entertainment Group, or AEG, spent the better part of the last decade searching for a suitable site for a midsize venue in Portland. MusicPortland members feel far less trepidation over the Monqui/AEG project. Though not ideal, AEG by and large allows venues to retain local ownership. “It is a false equivalency to say the two corporate music enterprises are the same,” says Meara McLaughlin, executive director of MusicPortland. Monqui/AEG has settled on a notable site in Portland for its venue. A 67,000-squarefoot, 2,000- to 4,250-capacity event center is now planned to replace the old Nordstrom building at the southwest corner of the Lloyd Center Mall. At press time, the project was days away from an all-important stop before Portland’s Design Commission. “We were ready for this kind of venue in Portland nine years ago,” says Monqui co-founder Mike Quinn. “We’re really ready for it now.” Meara McLaughlin, executive director of MusicPortland U.S. Postal Service Statement of Ownership, Circulation 1) Title of publication: Oregon Business 2) Publication No.: 479-670 3) Date of filing: Oct. 1, 2024 4) Frequency of issue: Monthly except Mar/ Apr, Jul/Aug and Oct/Nov/Dec 5) No. of issues published annually: 8 6) Annual subscription price: $24.95 7) Complete mailing address of known office of publication: MEDIAmerica Inc., 12570 SW 69TH AVE STE 102 PORTLAND OR 97223 8) Complete mailing address of the headquarters or general business offices of the publisher: same as #7. 9) Full names and complete mailing address of Publisher, Editor and Managing Editor: Publisher: Courtney Kutzman, Editor: Christen McCurdy, Managing Editor: Christen McCurdy, MEDIAmerica Inc., 12570 SW 69TH AVE STE 102 PORTLAND OR 97223 10) Owner: MEDIAmerica Inc., 12570 SW 69TH AVE STE 102 PORTLAND OR 97223 William Mainwaring, 12570 SW 69TH AVE STE 102 PORTLAND OR 97223 Win McCormack, 12570 SW 69TH AVE STE 102 PORTLAND OR 97223 Andrew Insinga, 12570 SW 69TH AVE STE 102 PORTLAND OR 97223 11) Known bondholders, mortgages, and other security holders owning or holding 1% or more of total amounts of bonds, mortgages or other securities: None. 12) Tax Status: Not applicable. 13) Name of Publication: Oregon Business 14) Issue date for circulation data below: September 2024 15) Extent and Nature of Circulation: a) Total no. copies (net press run) Average: 6152. Single Issue; 5966. b1) Paid or requested mail subscriptions; Average: 5221. Single issue: 5226. b3) Paid sales through dealers, etc.; Average: 52 Single issue; 30. b4) Requested distributed by other mail classes, Average 0, Single issue: 0. c) Total paid and/or requested circulation; Average 5273. Single issue: 5256. d1) Non-requested distribution by mail; Average: 142. Single issue: 201. d3) Non requested distributed by other mail classes, Average 402. Single issue: 453 d4) Non requested distribution outside the mail; Average: 0 Single issue: 0. e) Total non-requested distribution; Average 787. Single issue: 745 f) Total distribution; Average: 6060. Single issue: 6001. g) Copies not distributed; Office use, leftovers; Average: (52) Single Issue; (30). h) Total; Average: 6008. Single issue; 5971. i) Percent paid and/or requested circulation; Average: 87.01%. Single issue 87.59%. 16. a) Requested and paid Electronic Copies; Average: 3557. Single issue 3557. b) Total Requested and paid Print & Electronic Copies; Average 8830. Single issue 8813. c) Total Distribution; Average 9617. Single 9558. d) Percent paid and/ or requested print & electronic circulation; Average 91.82%. Single issue 92.21%. 29
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTcxMjMwNg==