Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino Throws White House Correspondents Dinner After-Party Amid Lobbying Push

Live Nation chief executive Michael Rapino was in Washington D.C. over the weekend, hosting his own party around the White Correspondents Dinner on Saturday.

The Axios After Hours Presented by Live Nation party on Saturday was held at the National Building Museum with media partner Axios after the White House Correspondents dinner ended and included a private performance from rising country star Lainey Wilson.

Rapino, who received $139 million in salary and stocks last year, according to a SEC fillings, isn’t a major political donor and hasn’t appeared at a major congressional hearing in a decade. But with the Live Nation-owned Ticketmaster coming under fire from lawmakers in recent years over long-standing concerns about anti-competitor business practices and the Taylor Swift ticketing crash in November, Rapino’s presence capped off a frenzied lobbying effort over the last two years to build a political base for the company.

Financially, Live Nation had its best year ever in 2022, posting a record $16.7 in revenue last year and $732 million in income. But the growing music conglomerate has largely been politically inactive in the years following its 2010 merger with Ticketmaster.

That changed in 2019 when the Department of Justice recommended extending a consent degree governing the 2010 merger. Last election cycle, Live Nation spent $1.4 million lobbying Congress, more than it has ever spent before. That spending is expected to continue unabridged in 2023 as Live Nation continues to lobby for ticketing reform legislation to curb illegal scalping activities, floating its own FAIR ticketing proposal as as a possible model for legislation.