Join us for a discussion with Spencer Weber Waller and his fascinating forthcoming book, Power and Greed: Monopolies, Mergers, and Cartels on the American Stage. Waller will discuss the roots of the live entertainment industry in the United States, and the monopolies and powerful business cartels that have controlled who could produce, book, and present live performance and legitimate theatre since the second half of the 19th century. Far from being a historical problem, it took the botched rollout of the 2023 Taylor Swift Eras tour via Live Nation/Ticketmaster for people and Congress to question this established history, and more importantly, ask what could be done to change it via stronger enforcement of the antitrust laws to help prevent high prices and poor service suffered by concert-goers who buy their tickets online. But how did we get to this point? This is the story of the real battle for Broadway, where the men who controlled the business determined not only who produced for the theatrical and vaudeville stage but also what they produced, who would perform, where the show would play, how much the audience would pay, and how those profits would be divided. Discover how it took the law nearly sixty years to catch up to the illegal anticompetitive strategies of the Barons of the Gilded Age and their successors and why this story matters today. About the Speaker: Spencer Weber Waller, author of Power and Greed: Monopolies, Mergers, and Cartels on the American Stage, is deeply involved in the Broadway and touring theatre industry, having represented actors, playwrights, marketing professionals, and theatre companies. He was co-producer of the 2024 Broadway revival of The Who’s Tommy and has invested in Broadway shows and global touring productions. Waller is the John Paul Stevens Chair in Competition Law at Loyola University Chicago School of Law and is an internationally recognized expert in antitrust and consumer protection law. He is widely published in law and related subjects and frequently interviewed in the press. Learn more about Waller’s book at https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/power-and-greed-9781350636613/ Spencer Weber Waller, Loyola University Chicago, Professor of Law and Director of the Institute for Consumer Antitrust Studies
