Live Nation subsidiaries received millions in aid meant for independent venues

In the early months of the pandemic, as lawmakers toiled on an aid package for shuttered concert halls and other performance venues, a major company lobbied to be included in the relief.Live Nation Entertainment — the corporate parent of Ticketmaster and a dominant force in the entertainment industry — urged Democrats and Republicans in Congress to let it be directly eligible for the $15 billion emergency relief program, according to five people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations.Congress was wary of allowing grants to publicly traded companies such as Live Nation, worrying that the funds could be used to bail out stock market investors. In the end, lawmakers wrote the law to exclude large companies like Live Nation, as well as firms they own or control.But the parameters set by Congress and the Small Business Administration, which disbursed the funds, allowed several companies in which Live Nation has significant investments to receive grants: Nearly $19 million went to firms listed as subsidiaries on Live Nation’s 2022 securities filings or in which Live Nation has a substantial, though not majority, ownership stake, according to a Washington Post review of Securities and Exchange Commission filings, state corporate documents and SBA data, as well as interviews with executives at companies that received grants. They specifically opposed language barring aid to publicly traded companies, a congressional aide said on condition of anonymity to describe private conversations.The amount that Live Nation spent on lobbying the federal government across a range of issues including the grants more than doubled in 2020 compared to the prior year to over $1 million, and increased again in 2021, according to a tally by OpenSecrets, a nonprofit group that tracks the influence of money in politics.Ultimately, the measure approved by Congress excluded, among others, public companies — or venues or firms “majority owned or controlled” by such companies — from receiving any of the aid.In its statement to The Post, Live Nation said its lobbying effort was meant to protect jobs.“As the largest employer in the live music industry of course we advocated for support to be available to all live music workers no matter where they work,” the company’s statement said. Both Frank Productions and Frank Productions Concerts are listed as Live Nation subsidiaries in the SEC filings.Joel Plant, chief executive of Frank Productions, said in emailed statements to The Post that Live Nation only has a minority stake in Frank Productions Concerts, the entity that received the SBA grant.“It is accurate to say that both Frank Productions and Frank Productions Concerts are subsidiaries of Live Nation, and it is important to note that under the SVOG program, simply being a subsidiary of a publicly-traded entity does not make an entity ineligible,” Plant said.Frank Production Concerts’ 2021 annual report, filed with the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions, lists a corporate address that is the same as Live Nation’s Beverly Hills headquarters, and was signed by Live Nation Worldwide, Inc., a Delaware subsidiary of Live Nation Entertainment.