Image: Festi-GrÎles de la Côte-Nord in Canada
Featured Image Credit: Facebook
Rapino’s remarkable remuneration
Michael Rapino’s pay was under the spotlight in August as Live Nation was singled out as the leading example of disparities between boardroom and employee pay across S&P 500 companies. The Institute for Policy Studies’ (IPS) 29th annual Executive Excess report noted that Live Nation chief executive Rapino earned 5,400 times more than the company’s median earner in 2022. Rapino earned $139m – including a $109m stock grant – during the period compared to the median $25,673 according to the SEC filings assessed by the institute.
DICE’s rewards and redundancies
Ticketing and live music discovery platform DICE confirmed a number of layoffs in early August, but soon finalised a $65m funding round. The group said the layoffs affected up to 10% of its global workforce across all locations, and were the result of its restricting efforts. The business said the new cash injection, led by Matt Pincus’ Music fund, will help accelerate its launch in new cities across the US and the rest of the world. This new funding will also support its ongoing product investments.
Canadian festival’s machine blooper
Also in August, a Canadian food and music festival called on attendees to return around C$20,000 in ticketing revenue lost because of a payments glitch. Festi-GrÎles de la Côte-Nord organisers tried to recover thousands of dollars that were missing because credit card transactions at the ticket office were not completed during the entirety of the Quebec event between August 10-12. Organisers said a problem with the Interac ticket machines erroneously indicated that the transactions had been approved. It has been reported that the machines did not process the transactions because they were left in ‘training mode’.
Arsenal fans’ opening day woes
Premier League club Arsenal was also left red-faced after their opening game of the season was delayed by 30 minutes due to ticketing chaos. The stadium was largely empty at the initial kick-off time of 12.30pm due to fans being stuck at the turnstiles. Arsenal later explained that Apple iPhone users found that their Digital Pass displayed as having expired in their wallet. Gunners fans were happy by the end of the day, however, as the side beat Nottingham Forest 1-0.
Share this