Decibel and Docket

Entertainment journalist Dave Brooks and entertainment attorney Michael Seville launch their new show, Decibel & Docket, with a wide-ranging conversation that moves from true-crime pop culture to a deep dive on one of the most under-covered stories in American sports: the rise of private equity in youth athletics.Before the main topic, Dave and Michael react to the trailer for Nathan Fielder's upcoming documentary about Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, released weeks before she reports to federal prison. The hosts dissect the eerie interview footage, question how the crew gained embedded access to Holmes and her husband, and dig into the legal mechanics behind it. Michael explains how informed consent gives filmmakers wide latitude, but flags open questions about editorial control, parole optics, and where any proceeds could go given Holmes's outstanding restitution to Theranos fraud victims. The segment previews the show's format: pop-culture headlines filtered through legal analysis.The heart of the episode tackles a growing controversy: private equity's expansion into youth sports leagues, travel clubs, and tournament infrastructure. Drawing on recent reporting from New York Magazine, Fast Company, and Vox's Today, Explained, Dave lays out the scale of the shift — youth sports now generate an estimated $40 billion a year, nearly double NFL revenue, with families spending 46% more on their kids' primary sport than just five years ago.Dave traces the money trail to 2014, when private equity acquired uniform and competition giant Varsity Brands for $1.5 billion, flipped it to Bain Capital for $2.5 billion in 2018, and sold it again to KKR for roughly $4.5 billion in 2024. That roll-up playbook — buying teams, tournaments, hotel blocks, and streaming rights — has spread into lacrosse, hockey, baseball, and youth flag football ahead of its 2028 Olympic debut.Michael brings firsthand perspective as a youth-sports parent and board member of a rec league and a club soccer program in the Bay Area. He walks through the ecosystem — from city rec leagues and nonprofits like AYSO and i9 Sports up through regional, elite, and premier travel clubs — and explains how roll-up companies like Black Bear now control the rink, the uniforms, and the hotel blocks families must book, creating a vertically integrated model he compares directly to Live Nation and Ticketmaster's grip on live events.The conversation turns to the human and financial costs: families spending $25,000–$35,000 a year chasing scholarships that rarely materialize, early sport specialization linked to injuries like ACL tears in teenagers, and burned-out kids as young as eight or nine. As a counter-example, they highlight Minnesota's nonprofit youth hockey system, which serves 60,000 kids for as little as $204 a season and reportedly outproduces every other state in Division I hockey talent — all without private ownership taking a cut.Dave and Michael then break down the proposed Let Kids Play Act, federal legislation aimed at forcing "vulture" private equity investors out of youth sports within two years. Michael offers a skeptical legal read, questioning whether the bill can survive due-process challenges and who would even enforce it — the SEC? The DOJ? They also touch on how Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) money is trickling down into youth sports recruiting, with 44% of parents citing potential NIL earnings as a factor in signing kids up for a sport.This episode is a strong entry point for anyone interested in the business and legal side of sports, private equity's expansion beyond healthcare and retail into new industries, or the economics of American youth athletics. Listen and subscribe to Decibel & Docket for weekly breakdowns of the legal fights shaping live entertainment, sports, and media.

Dave Brooks and entertainment attorney Michael Seville are back with another episode of Decibel & Docket, diving into one of the wildest scam stories of the year before turning their attention to the ticket resale fight engulfing this year's US Open.Dave and Mike open by unpacking the bizarre case of Dejon Love, a 35-year-old man who spent over four years posing as a San Francisco 49ers wide receiver — despite never having an NFL contract or even a combine invite. Armed with nothing but a phone, rented cars, and a shockingly unconvincing "signing day" video, Love allegedly used his fake football-star persona (and a second identity as a wealthy real estate investor with "Swiss family money") to lure victims on dating apps. Federal prosecutors say he scammed 26 victims out of more than $1.3 million — and his fictional football career got so much traction online that Google's AI reportedly started listing him as an actual 49ers player.Dave and Mike break down how the scheme survived undetected for years, why banks flagged suspicious payments but couldn't tie them to a crime, and what wire fraud charges could mean for Love's future — with Mike walking through the legal elements of wire fraud and both hosts guessing at possible sentencing outcomes based on comparable fraud cases like Fyre Festival's Billy McFarland. The conversation turns into a broader riff on the scam economy, with Dave sharing his own experience fighting fake Instagram accounts impersonating him during his Billboard days, and both hosts offering listeners a common-sense gut check for spotting too-good-to-be-true online romance and financial pitches.Main Story: The US Open, Ticketmaster, and the "Scourge" of ResaleThe back half of the episode is a deep dive into ticket resale, sparked by skyrocketing US Open prices. Dave stakes out a hardline position: he wants resale banned outright, arguing it functions as a pure middleman tax that inflates prices without benefiting consumers, even as he acknowledges the secondary market provides useful data on real consumer demand. Mike pushes back with a consumer's-eye view, describing how resale platforms have genuinely helped him and his family catch last-minute tickets to shows and games — while agreeing the system, in aggregate, has spiraled out of control.The two dig into the mechanics of why reform keeps stalling. They cover recent California legislation — including a resale ban that died and a heavily watered-down bill (AB 1349) that Dave says industry advocacy group NIVA is now lobbying Governor Gavin Newsom not to sign. Mike, drawing on his legal background, offers a sharp breakdown of why the ongoing DOJ antitrust case and settlement against Live Nation/Ticketmaster may not even apply to what's happening at the US Open, since the settlement's definition of "live entertainment" centers on concerts, comedy, and theatrical shows — potentially leaving sporting events like tennis outside its reach entirely. They also discuss the FTC's separate suit against Ticketmaster over enforcement of its own resale rules, and how Ticketmaster's fee structure — collecting a cut every time a ticket resells — creates a built-in incentive to let scalping flourish rather than curb it.The conversation turns to the US Open specifically: whether the USTA could unilaterally bar resale on all its tickets the way some artists do (it currently does so only for premium seats), what the organization's nonprofit status and 99-year Flushing Meadows lease might mean for its public obligations, and who — the City of New York, State AG Letitia James, or another party — might actually have legal standing to challenge the practice. Dave closes the segment fired up, comparing the resale problem to other uniquely American failures of political will and predicting the resale market will keep exploding around marquee events until someone finds the courage to act.

On Episode 32 of Decibel & Docket, Dave Brooks and attorney Michael Seville examine the collision of music, power, politics and representation—from the life and legacy of Dolly Parton to Donald Trump’s reported intervention in the government’s antitrust case against Live Nation and Ticketmaster.The episode begins with a heartfelt remembrance of Dolly Parton, who died at age 80 following a brief battle with cancer. Dave recalls seeing Parton perform at the Hollywood Bowl, interviewing her during his years at Billboard and even receiving a cease-and-desist letter after publishing a photograph of the beloved velvet Dolly portrait hanging in his home. Dave and Mike reflect on Parton’s extraordinary ability to transcend political and cultural divisions, her advocacy for the LGBTQ community, her Christian faith and the Imagination Library, which has distributed more than 300 million books to children. They also revisit her ambitious 2023 album Rockstar, featuring collaborations with Miley Cyrus, Joan Jett, Pink, Brandi Carlile, Debbie Harry, Lizzo, Linda Perry and members of Lynyrd Skynyrd.Next, Dave and Mike unpack explosive new reporting from The Wall Street Journal detailing President Trump’s personal involvement in negotiations between the Justice Department and Live Nation as the company prepared to go to trial on federal antitrust charges.According to the Journal, Live Nation had spent months unsuccessfully attempting to negotiate with the Justice Department, which was demanding structural concessions—including the possible sale of Ticketmaster and the surrender of much of Live Nation’s amphitheater business. The dynamic reportedly changed after Live Nation hired Sullivan & Cromwell attorney James McDonald, who had previously represented Trump, and CEO Michael Rapino met with the president in the Oval Office.Although that meeting was ostensibly about improving bookings at the Kennedy Center, the Journal reports that Trump asked why the antitrust case had not been settled and subsequently directed senior officials to resolve it. Days later, Rapino returned to the White House for negotiations involving Attorney General Pam Bondi, senior Justice Department officials and White House counsel. Trump reportedly stopped by the meeting, and a settlement was reached that afternoon.Dave questions whether the Kennedy Center explanation holds up, while Mike explains why the White House meetings, the involvement of Trump-connected attorneys and the exclusion of the plaintiff states raise serious concerns about Justice Department independence. They also discuss why the states refused to join the federal settlement, pressed forward at trial and ultimately secured a jury verdict finding that Live Nation had illegally monopolized major concert ticketing. Could the delayed disclosure of the settlement or the involvement of Trump’s personal advisers expose anyone to sanctions or professional scrutiny? And did Live Nation obtain a settlement through political access that it could not have secured through ordinary antitrust negotiations?Finally, Dave and Mike welcome Laura Segura of She Is the Music and Vivian Donahue and Katie Holmes of ROSTR to discuss the inaugural Music Gender Parity Index and its central finding: women account for only 29.7 percent of the artists, songwriters, producers and other intellectual-property-generating creators signed to music-industry rosters.The guests explain what they call the industry’s “one-in-three plateau,” including why women enter the business in significant numbers but remain dramatically underrepresented at the point where commercial investment and career development accelerate. Women also represent only 26.7 percent of managers and 25.9 percent of agents, while just 35 percent of new signings between 2023 and 2026 have been women—a pace unlikely to produce parity anytime soon.

Did California Attorney General Rob Bonta help kill a ticket reform bill to protect the government’s antitrust victory over Live Nation and Ticketmaster? And did Ellie Goulding spend years paying managers who were secretly owned by the same concert giant they were supposed to negotiate against?On Episode 31 of Decibel & Docket, veteran music journalist Dave Brooks and attorney Michael Seville examine two stories about money, influence and conflicts of interest in the live music business.First, Dave and Mike investigate the mysterious death of AB 1720, the California Fans First Act. The ticketing bill originally proposed a broad restriction on reselling concert tickets above face value. After months of amendments, it was narrowed to venues with 3,000 seats or fewer and would have permitted resale prices up to 10 percent above face value. Even that was too much for StubHub, which spent approximately $3.4 million lobbying in California to defeat the legislation—including roughly $2.6 million during the most recent quarter.AB 1720 ultimately died in the California Senate Appropriations Committee’s suspense file, where lawmakers can quietly stop legislation without casting a public vote against it. Sources say Bonta’s office raised concerns that enforcing the law could cost approximately $1.4 million, giving the committee a fiscal justification to hold the bill.Was that a legitimate enforcement concern—or a convenient way to kill politically difficult legislation?Dave and Mike explore Bonta’s unusual position. As one of the state attorneys general seeking major remedies against Live Nation and Ticketmaster following the government’s antitrust victory, Bonta may eventually need financially viable ticketing companies to compete for contracts or assets divested by Ticketmaster. StubHub argued that California could not accuse Ticketmaster of monopolizing ticketing while simultaneously passing legislation that might weaken one of its competitors. But does StubHub actually compete with Ticketmaster in primary ticketing, venue software and box-office services—or is the company using the antitrust case to protect its resale business?Artist manager and returning guest Randy Nichols joins the show to deliver an insider’s postmortem of AB 1720. Nichols discusses StubHub’s multimillion-dollar lobbying campaign, the private pressure placed on lawmakers, Bonta’s alleged intervention and the music community’s attempt to impose limits on ticket scalping. He also explains why supporters believe StubHub misrepresented the bill as a giveaway to Ticketmaster, whether Assemblyman Matt Haney will revive the proposal and how the battle over ticket resale caps could now move to Massachusetts and Congress.Then, Dave and Mike break down Ellie Goulding’s lawsuit against her former managers, Ben Mawson and Ed Millett, and TAP Management’s parent company, HNOE Limited.Goulding alleges that she signed with TAP in 2018 without being told that Live Nation controlled its parent company. Live Nation reportedly acquired a 50.1 percent interest in HNOE in 2015 and purchased the remainder in 2019. During her relationship with TAP, Goulding paid a 20 percent management commission and entered agreements with Live Nation-affiliated companies involving touring, merchandise and a documentary.The most explosive allegation concerns contractual provisions that allegedly restricted Goulding’s managers from encouraging clients to stop doing business with Live Nation or taking actions that could diminish an artist’s commercial relationship with the company.That raises a fundamental question: Can an artist manager fulfill a fiduciary duty to a client while being owned by—and allegedly obligated to protect—the corporation sitting across the negotiating table?

Not all music towns are built the same. While some cities have great music venues and timeless festivals, others are often overlooked are shut out by radius clauses and contract exemptions that suffocate music scenes. On this special episode of Decibel and Docket, Mike and Dave break down the worst live music markets on the planet, both domestically and internationally and break down why some towns struggle to attract major tours.