Political spending among major players in the live music industry has remained largely flat this election cycle, while contributions from people who work at Live Nation have risen slightly in recent years and money spent on lobbying members of Congress fell in 2024, according to the electoral data examined. with Bulletin board.
To Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), owner Phil Anschutz spent $1.9 million to support this year's Republican re-election efforts, but chose not to endorse the presidential candidate Donald Trump. Anschutz never endorsed the brash presidential candidate, but even though the AEG boss is sinking millions of dollars into efforts to flip the Senate for Republicans.
CEO of Live Nation Michael Rapinoeon the other hand, he gave $25,000 in political donations to mostly Democratic Senate candidates and causes, records show, while the usually politically active James Dolanchairman of Madison Square Garden Entertainment, made a single donation of $25,000 this election cycle to Secure NYS PAC, a shadow political action committee created to defeat House member Tom Swatch (NY-D).
At Live Nation, executives donated about $387,000 to mostly Democratic candidates, a drop of about 6 percent from 2020, when executives donated $410,000.
The spending round comes during an unusually politically active year for the concert industry, with a major ticket reform package before Congress and the Justice Department's antitrust investigation of Live Nation moving through courts.
Neither political cause has led to significant spending by Rapinoe or his longtime opponent Anschutz, who has once again sunk hundreds of thousands of dollars into an effort to flip the Senate to Republicans. Anschutz, a Colorado billionaire who made large parts of his fortune in energy, railroads and communications, has long supported groups such as the National Republican Senatorial Committee. This year, Anschutz made more than 200 donations totaling $1.9 million to right-wing political groups, most of which went to political groups that support Senate Republicans such as John Cornyn, John Thune and former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy. Anschutz also spent $1.9 million during the 2016 cycle and $836,000 during the 2020 cycle.
Rapino spent far less than Anschutz this election cycle, with his largest political contribution being the $10,000 he donated to Live Nation's political action committee, which gave $200,000 to candidates from both political parties this cycle. As an individual donor, Rapino chipped in about $4,600 in donations to the Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jackie Rosen in Nevada and supported Adam Schiffhis campaign for the California Senate, as well as the campaigns of high-profile members of the California House of Representatives Katie Porter and Eric Swalwell.
Meantime, Greg Maffeipresident/CEO of Liberty Media and chairman of Live Nation Entertainment, spent more than $112,000 on conservative political and political causes, mostly supporting Trump's presidential candidacy and Senate Republicans. That's down significantly from the 2020 election cycle, when Maffei spent $420,000 on right-wing political causes and politicians, and the 2016 cycle when he spent $324,000.
