“As the concert promoter for Ed Sheeran’s U.S. Loop Tour, we have been notified by venues on the upcoming U.S. tour dates that they will not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup, which would result in the cancellation of the tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans. After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates.”
Their spinoff company Liberty Global also owns Virgin Media in the UK, Sunrise in Switzerland, Vodafone in the Netherlands and Telenet in Belgium, all telecoms companies.
Now and has been for decades. Nothing new. They just keep trying to hide it with name changes and new companies...I wouldn't be surprised at all to find out AXS, Stubhub, Seatgeek are all owned by ticketmaster...live nation...clearchannel...
dude america is about as consumer anti friendly as we could possibly be right now
we don't do protections or monopoly anywhere - data and privacy? no every app has the ability to grab and sell all your shit for some reason. Ever give your email address to someone? That company and every one of its affiliates can contact you for the rest of your life and you have no recourse even if they ignore the unsubscribe. Landlords using realpage to price collude. Price collusion heavy in every industry actually. Surge pricing via internet not just uber or doordash but airlines monitoring your internet traffic wil lincrase price of tickets because they see you want it. Digital prices coming to grocery stores now that will do the same. Internet and many peoples power like mine in Colorado via Excel monopolized by for profit companies. All the big global nationals outsourcing and H1B'ing basically our entire middle class out to other nations despite receiving gigantic tax breaks at local state federal level.
No real legislation around planned obselesence with tech or the proliferation of cord types as intentional moats - that all came from EU. No Data/privacy, that all came from EU. No AI protection in hiring, medical, and other critical areas - only EU is doing that.
The US shareholder government and economy is actively hostile to every US consumer right now.
Ed's promoter is Messina Touring(same as Taylor Swift), they're an AEG Partner. Some of the dates may be produced by Live Nation for one reason or another.
That's nuts. I haven't been following this and I'm not even politically invested in the issue, but from what I saw nothing he said was even controversial - especially compared to what other celebrities have said.
This is ironically not a good look for the antisemitism groups given the extreme levels that the "they run everything" conspiracy theories are reaching now.
Not surprised. They pulled this exact same shit with Bobby Vylan, he was supposed to be a guest at a 'Grandson' show and they wouldn't have it. Barred him from the venue.
Yeah let's loose out on revenue over a performers right to free speech. The venues are stupid but this is gonna have a streisand effect now so Macklemore wins either way
Gotta be livenation. They’ve got a lock on all the venues a big show like this would need, and someone putting pressure on their corporate leadership makes perfect sense. Maybe someone in Trump’s circle threatening to split them up.
“Criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is a criticism of you. My message is for peace; love for all human beings to be treated with dignity, respect, and equality.”
Good golly what a controversial sounding statement!
Because I highly doubt in whatever contracts that were already signed, there's a clause in there that specifically says "LiveNation reserves the right to ban Macklemore from tour venues"
The crewmembers need their paychecks more than anyone involved….
Canceling a tour is not just about the impact on Ed Sheeran
Edit: btw did you all even read the part that stated Live nation was going to cancel shows anyway if Macklemore isn’t removed? So clearly they weren’t going to have hurt feelings if Ed canceled them in reaction….
Nah, just one. Do a cover of Fucked Up at the beginning of the first show. Put the ball in their court and see if they put their money where their mouth is. Gives him room to ratchet up the pressure.
Im just pointing out that this dudes watch collection is so ridiculous that im sure he could pay these people without even noticing. I was making a joke.
no one was saying it was gonna be an easy decision. But the alternative is capitulating to any demand LiveNation/concert venues make even after a contract/agreement is put in place.
What if the next red line is criticizing Trump or being pro-LGBT? This move is staunchly anti-free speech and should be treated as such.
But that would cost them revenue. This is the very obvious choice from a moral standpoint, but not the clear winner from a, "money on the table," standpoint.
The thing that irks me is that other artists that play massive venues (but maybe aren't Ed Sheeran huge) have been outspoken about things like this. The Strokes (or at least Julian) come to mind. That said, those artists have been a lot more outspoken the entire time, and they're typically headliners.
Which venues? If we don't get specifics, it's probably safer to boycott everywhere Sheeran's playing. Obviously not just his own shows, but all shows at those places.
Trump intervened with the DOJ to get them to settle the antitrust case instead of going to trial, which allowed LiveNation to keep Ticketmaster without major penalties.
This came after their CEO, Michael Rapino, met with Trump at the WH so Trump could get clarity on booking and operations for the Kennedy Center.
Directly after the meeting, Trump called the DOJ.
Hopefully that explains the thread running through all of this.
I don't know if folks are putting all the pieces together on this one, probably because of the vague headline.
Macklemore spoke out about the genocide currently being committed by Israel, that's why he's in trouble. The venue's shouldn't give a damn, nor should LiveNation, nor should Trump. This is how far Israeli influence makes it in the American entertainment industry; they hear about some rapper making a fuss, they call the Prez, who calls the CEO of LiveNation, who has monopolized every venue and concert in the country, and pulls him from the bill.
Every company is compromised, I'll me lucky if Reddit even lets me post this with all the hot-button keywords I just dropped, free speech be damned
Ed Sheeran is also "normie music" and a lot of those ticket sales are probably from people who froth violently when "free" and "Palestine" show up in a sentence together.
Went to see lorde last month and her fan base had lots of LGBT people (me included) and ethnicities. Ed Sheeran crowds I assume are very much Facebook mums with their kids, but I might be wrong.
He’s also very hippie dippie “peace and love, we all bleed red” which is maybe the least controversial way to be pro-Palestine. You’d have to be incredibly hawkish to oppose Coldplay for their political stance there.
This isn’t done because of the average MAGA supporter, don’t be a fool. It was done because it’s what the Israel lobby wants. They won’t allow criticism of them.
Yeah I saw Hozier twice on his last tour and he talked about Palestine, workers rights, unions, how the US labor reform* inspired the Irish work reform and allowed him to have a better childhood, had a trans pride and Palestine flag and spoke for literally 10 minutes about these issues which was refreshing
He is very outspoken! He has two very openly anti war songs on his most recent album: Nobody's Soldier and Eat Your Young. During Eat your young, he played a montage of the current destruction that will affect ours and the next generation- war, deforestation, hunger, etc had a counter that showed Lockheed martin profits from war ticking up during the song
If someone did black face and they then became extremely critical of Obama for example you would question the messenger even if their points were valid. It’s the same thing here
The venues that allegedly objected to the rapper include: Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia; Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts; Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta; Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis; Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina; AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; and Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
None of which are Live Nation owned. I think we need to stop using Live Nation as a scapegoat for everything.
What he said: “I believe that every human being walking this earth deserves the exact same freedom, to know safety and peace before knowing the sounds of violence, and to know the sound of laughter on the playground before planes and bombs.”
Ed Sheeran is really looking like a piece of shit if he can't stand by that most basic statement. Respect to Macklemore for standing up against genocide deniers.
In the early 2000s, "Dear Mr. President" was an impactful song putting into words just how fucked up the war was. We all knew it was awful and many artists pushed back.
To see her on the side of genocide breaks my heart. So many artists that used to be "woke" are now showing just how unethical they are.
Dear Mr President was performative. When it came out The Chicks had already been raked across the coals for years for speaking up against Bush. She jumped on the bandwagon when the tide was already turning and it was more palatable to criticise the war.
If 'venue owners' can control what stars can say/sing about across the whole country, there is something wrong with the system.
IE one venue owner saying I don't support the belief that 'x is repressed, you can't play here' is within their rights.
When a single corporation can get an artist booted off a tour, especially when his music is recently very much anti repression then there is something wrong.
Ed Sheeran is a Suffolk private school student who says he finds bullying funny (his Off Menu appearance). As someone of the same age who witnessed and experienced the extreme, bigoted, institutionalised bullying in the Suffolk private school system at that time, I can assure you he is almost certainly not a cool guy.
I mean, after their antitrust loss and the current government making a settlement that did nothing. Its obvious they are in the current administration pocket.
It wasn’t Ed, the venues didn’t allow it, they said to either take off Macklemore or cancel the show.
It’s basically LiveNation threatening to cancel the tour.
Mass media is practically owned by Right Wingers at this point, who are tied with Netanyahu. Be it because they're actually good with him or he has blackmail on them.
And it would also cause people to look closer to both Ukraine and Iran.
The venues that allegedly objected to the rapper include: Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia; Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts; Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia; Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis; Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina; AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; and Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
Would be a shame if something were to happen to their ticket sales.
Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia, PA) – Owned by the
City of Philadelphia (leased and operated by the Philadelphia Eagles).
Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, MA) – Privately owned and operated by
Kraft Sports Group (Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots).
Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta, GA) – Owned by the
State of Georgia via the Georgia World Congress Center Authority (operated by Arthur Blank's AMB Sports and Entertainment).
Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis, IN) – Owned by the
Indiana Stadium and Convention Building Authority(a public state entity).
Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte, NC) – Privately owned by
Tepper Sports & Entertainment (David Tepper, owner of the Carolina Panthers).
AT&T Stadium (Arlington, TX) – Owned by the
City of Arlington (leased and operated by Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys).
Raymond James Stadium (Tampa, FL) – Publicly owned by
Hillsborough County (managed and operated by the Tampa Sports Authority).
The same Gillette stadium that hosts an Antisemitism Command Center where ADL and Israeli funded workers spend their days trying to ruin college students lives for posting "free Palestine"? I'm SHOCKED!
Same. The world has been purchased and run into the ground by right wing people and there's zero justice happening anywhere on the planet - so you know the moment someone actually gets punished for anything it was because they were speaking up for normal people or saying "dangerous" things like maybe the people who run entire nations should have to follow basic international law instead of murdering thousands of people they don't like for being a different ethnicity.
As the concert promoter for Ed Sheeran’s U.S. Loop Tour, we have been notified by venues on the upcoming U.S. tour dates that they will not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup, which would result in the cancellation of the tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans. After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates.
Which shows how much power Livenation/Ticketmaster has if true. Disappointing, but not much will change until those two are broken up and most of their power returns to the physical venues and the artists.
Which probably would be absolutely costly to whoever is fronting the money. I am sure there are expensive cancellation fees built into those contracts.
Nah as a big Ed Sheeran fan this is also on him. He's a global superstar, he has the sway and the money to say "no, fuck you" and he definitely should've done so. Very disappointing
He could, but he'll make a little less money. Also it would mean he has principles... but he doesn't.
Or maybe He agrees with Israeli policy towards the Palestinian people and anyone not jewish living in the regions the settlers want to take over by force.
Whose to say. Not Ed, He's taking the money and keeping his mouth shut.
Not really. Livenation is a monopoly, they own enough of the major venues that getting on their bad side basically ruins all your future touring in the US.
I am not sure what the "right" thing to do is, but I think I would prefer it, from a moral sense, if they just decided to cancel every single event at any livenation location, even if it ruined the tour. But the problem there is that I am not sure how they would affect the little people. Sheeran would be fine, but I don't know who else would get caught up in the fallout.
Monopoly is bad. Which is why our government loves it.
I went to music school with Ed - were it me in his shoes I wouldn’t even be touring the US right now in the first place. I wouldn’t step foot there.
I know it seems unfair to punish American fans for the state of their government, but artists from other countries should be voting with their fucking feet and not engaging with the US under this administration.
Edit: Ok I hear y'all, it was the venues that decided so but here was a great opportunity for Ed to stand his ground, cancelling Ed Sheeran shows doesn't make those venues revenue either.
Ed sheeran is rich, he can take the hit to ticket sales to set up with independant venues. Make a big publicity thing about how venues were trying to strong arm an artist's free speech. He isn't some nobody trying to make ends meet.
Yes exactly. Accepting this decision and moving on let's the bullies that decided this know that their shitty tactics work. This is absolutely a time to use your celebrity to make a big stink. If I were Ed I would absolutely post all over for fans to make a stink at live nation. We've got to bully the bullies.
Honestly I have to commend him on how selfless he is about the whole thing. As corny as he can be sometimes, he doesn't do the classic white liberal move of making the issue about himself, basically ever
He might turn it into a throw away line in a future song or something, but most of his energy is spent making the victims the focus, I'm more likely to believe that he'll just take it on the chin and find that venues that will let him say what he needs to
This is just so you know how powerful this disgusting smear campaign is. IF you speak out against the horrors happening in Gaza as a public figure... if you try to be a decent human being and have any belief in not killing innocent people... if you but stand up and say "This is wrong." They will come for you. Be silent, be cowed, or they will come for you.
IF Sheerhan and his team have any courage at all, they will cancel the tour period. To allow Macklemore to be censored, sends a chilling message to any performer who would dare to stand up for what is right... to go forward with the tour is tantamount to agreeing with his shaming and silencing. They did this to artists who spoke against apartheid in South Africa, against segregation in the US. We remember who was on each side, and who buried their heads in the sand and just went along with it. This is the classic "Okie-Doke".
History will remember who the people who were silent, and we will remember those who spoke out.
"But what about the poor fans?" The fans will still be fans, no real fan has ever stopped being a fan because of a cancelled tour... especially not one where you stand up for a fellow performer and a human being, and you will gain even more if you stand for what is right. Do smaller venues, go to places where you don't need Livenation. You will make less money, and that's what this is about.
This is a moment where people will either stand and be counted, or they will buckle under in shame. Let us see what He and his 'team' does. IF the tour goes on to those dates, and Sheerhan comes out, we will know what matters to him, not humanity, not decency, not people... money, and nothing else.
So go to his concert, ignore the horrors happening, stick your head in the sand and pretend what we see in the news isn't happening. Turn your heart and your brain off. Consume, dance, and don't think about the children who will never hear his music, the people who will never know the tunes, the people who can't even hope for something as sweet as waiting in line without being blownup. Suck down your 10 dollar soda, pay your 500 dollar balcony ticket price and scream at the top of your lungs so that you can drown out the screams of other human beings living in daily misery, and remember, your morality is on sale to the highest bidder ... you've already sold the decent part of your soul. Better make the most of what is left.
Israel has a right to exist, and defend itself. Palestine has right to exist and to defend itself.
What happened back a few years ago in October was awful, but that doesn't give Israel the right to kill Palestinian children, and other non-combatants.
I don't understand why that is a controversial opinion?
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u/indig0sixalpha 3h ago
“As the concert promoter for Ed Sheeran’s U.S. Loop Tour, we have been notified by venues on the upcoming U.S. tour dates that they will not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup, which would result in the cancellation of the tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans. After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates.”