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Live Nation Deletes Post Telling DOJ ‘It’s Time to Move On’ From Monopoly Lawsuit

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Live Nation has quietly taken down a blog post in which its top lawyer publicly urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) to settle its antitrust case against the promotion giant without forcing the sale of Ticketmaster.

On Thursday (Feb. 19), Live Nation head of corporate and regulatory affairs Dan Wall argued in a post titled “It’s Time to Move On” that the DOJ has already lost its legal arguments for breaking up Live Nation and Ticketmaster. But as of Friday morning (Feb. 20), that post had become a dead link on Live Nation’s site.

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Live Nation reps did not return inquiries from Billboard as to why the post was deleted.

A trial is currently scheduled to begin next month in the DOJ’s blockbuster legal action — in which it was joined by dozens of state attorneys general — that seeks to reduce Live Nation’s market share across the live music industry. The lawsuit alleges that Live Nation has monopolistically impeded competition — claims the company strongly denies.

Wall’s now-deleted blog post appealed to the DOJ to enter into a “realistic, common-sense” settlement rather than take the case to trial. It was an unusual public negotiating tactic, but not the first sign that Live Nation wants a deal; Semafor recently reported that Kellyanne Conway and Mike Davis, allies of President Donald Trump, are lobbying the administration on the company’s behalf.

The crux of Wall’s post was his interpretation of a key Wednesday (Feb. 18) court ruling in the lawsuit. In that ruling, Judge Arun Subramanian held that the trial should go forward on the legality of both Ticketmaster’s exclusive venue contracts and Live Nation’s policy of “tying” its artist promotion services to shows at its amphitheaters — though he ruled there’s insufficient evidence for the DOJ’s claim that the company has broadly monopolized the national concert promotion market.

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Wall’s post argued that the ruling “undermines any serious argument for breaking up Live Nation and Ticketmaster.” He suggested the DOJ’s case has been seriously weakened now that it can no longer claim a concert promotions monopoly, and that the best path forward is a settlement that contains some “meaningful” relief without spinning off Ticketmaster.

Separately from Wall weighing in, the implications of Judge Subramanian’s Wednesday order are already being litigated in court. Live Nation’s outside lawyers filed papers on Thursday arguing that the dismissal of promotion-monopoly claims fatally dooms the tying allegations, and that the decision also should bar the DOJ from introducing evidence at trial that Live Nation allegedly threatened to withhold Live Nation acts from venues if they didn’t use Ticketmaster.

The government has been ordered to respond to these arguments by midday on Saturday (Feb. 21).

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sombr Stops Show to Scold Venue Staff After Fan Seemingly Passes Out: ‘You Need to Pay Attention’

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At his recent show in London, sombr paused the program to call out event staff after a fan appeared to faint in the audience without receiving help.

While in the midst of singing his breakout Billboard Hot 100 hit “Back to Friends” on Tuesday at O2 Academy Brixton, the Gen Z pop star suddenly waved at his band to stop playing. “Stop the show,” he said before addressing people working the concert, as captured in videos posted on social media. “Guys, there’s someone passed out over there.”

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“This is the most poorly managed venue I’ve ever played at in my life,” he continued. “You need to pay attention. It’s insane. I’ve played three nights here, and I’ve never played at a more poorly managed venue.”

Billboard has reached out to reps for sombr and O2 Academy Brixton.

Before proceeding with the show, the artist told the crowd, “Let me know when everyone’s good.”

sombr is currently on a run of shows in Europe, with dates planned for venues in Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow and Dublin. This summer, he’ll play a slew of festivals, including Coachella and BottleRock Napa Valley.

The New York native also had another mid-show interruption recently, this time during his performance at the BRIT Awards. While he was singing “Undressed” at the ceremony, a man wearing a “Sombr is a homewrecker” shirt ran out on stage and appeared to hit Sombr; as it turned out, it was a pre-planned stint to help promote his new single “Homewrecker,” which recently debuted at No. 26 on the Hot 100.

And despite the momentary frustration, Sombr had only kind words to say about his overall experience playing for fans in London. “I love you so much,” he wrote over a video of the crowd at O2 Academy Brixton on his Instagram Story. “Thanks so much for an unforgettable past 3 nights. I’ll be back London.”

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The 15 Most Surprising Member Exits From K-Pop Groups

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While the K-pop world is grappling with the unexpected news that ENHYPEN is no longer seven members following member Heeseung’s seemingly out-of-nowhere announcement of his departure, the industry has certainly been blindsided by such abrupt exits many times.

While Heeseung’s situation was shocking, it unfolded fairly calmly. On March 10, announcements came from ENHYPEN’s official channels, alongside a handwritten letter from Heeseung himself and ENHYPEN’s own statement on social media. Comparatively, some of K-pop’s biggest groups have been changed forever by dramatic announcements from members, via notices of legal action or vague updates from their agencies — the latter of which can sometimes be the most heartbreaking for fans.

From one of K-pop’s most landmark member exits in Junsu, Yoochun and Jaejoong from TVXQ! in 2009 (which ultimately rid the industry of so-called “slave contracts”) to years like 2014, 2019 or even last year, where multiple popular groups saw members drop from their groups, Billboard is sharing a timeline of the 15 most shocking exits from K-pop groups.

Membership changes are never easy, even when fans suspect something may have shifted for the group or there is an internal or external issue. Members of K-pop groups have left for the sake of their mental health or sometimes due to ongoing external pressure from issues from their past arising. For the purposes of this timeline and its relation to the news surrounding ENHYPEN and Heeseung, we’re focusing on K-pop member exits that seemingly came out of nowhere, with no prior indication, hiatuses or controversy.

Read on to learn how rare it is to have Heeseung remain under the same label as his former group in BELIFT LAB to pursue his solo career and more, in this look through K-pop’s most unexpected member departures.

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Watch Harry Styles Bust Marcello Hernandez for Impersonating Him Ahead of ‘SNL’: ‘Are Those My Clothes?’

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Sorry, Marcello Hernandez — there’s only one Harry Styles. On the set of Saturday Night Live ahead of the pop star’s upcoming hosting and performing stint, the comedian got a little too comfortable impersonating that week’s guest in a promo video posted Wednesday (March 11).

The teaser opens as a spoof on Styles’ One Night in Manchester concert special trailer, with the piano intro to his new single “American Girls” playing over shots of what looks like the singer’s silhouette striking poses and dancing across the stage. A record-scratch moment happens when the real Styles walks in with SNL castmember Kenan Thompson, busting Hernandez, who’d been pretending to be the Grammy winner that whole time.

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“What are you doing, Marcello? Are those my clothes?” Styles asks a visibly embarrassed Hernandez.

“Yeah, sorry,” the stand-up comic stutters, suddenly shy about wearing Styles’ pinstriped, flared slacks. “I thought you weren’t coming, so I thought I’d just go on as your understudy.”

Perplexed, Styles explains where he and Thompson had been. “I’m 15 minutes late, because Kenan and I went out for pain au chocolat. It’s a tradition when I host.”

Suffice to say, it’ll be Styles — the real Styles — helming SNL on Saturday (March 14), returning to host for the second time. He previously led an episode of the show in 2019.

The Brit will also serve as musical guest on the new episode, having just dropped his new album, Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally. The project was led by Billboard Hot 100-topping single “Aperture” and features second single “American Girls,” both of which are strong contenders for the tracks Styles will perform at 30 Rock — although fans will have to tune in to the live show to find out.

Watch Styles’ SNL promo above.

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