Taylor Swift vs. Ronald Reagan: Is the Ticketmaster story true?
The Antitrust Paradox: A Policy at War with Itself
WAS ROBERT BORK SENIOR INVOLVED IN A GRAND CONSPIRACY IN THE 1980’s TO PUNISH TAYLOR SWIFT FANS?
PUBLIUS SPECIAL GUEST: Robert H. Bork Jr. is the President of the Antitrust Education Project, and recently reissued his father's book, The Antitrust Paradox: A Policy at War with Itself.
This special episode of Decoder dives deep into Taylor Swift, Ticketmaster, and how a handful of policy changes in the 1980s led to one firm so thoroughly dominating the live events business in the United States that Congress held a hearing in 2023 because Taylor Swift fans were upset about antitrust law. That sentence is wild. We’re going to unpack all of this with the help of some experts.
And since it’s a special episode, we’re trying something new. We produced a video you can watch in this post or on YouTube. Let us know what you think.
Okay, Ticketmaster and antitrust. Here we go.
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PLUG BOOK: The Antitrust Paradox By Judge Robert H. Bork
BIO: Robert H. Bork, Jr., heads the Bork Group, a 18-year-old virtual crisis, litigation, and public affairs agency, which draws from the best, most-experienced, independent communications talent. Mr. Bork has designed strategies for clients in many high-profile cases and policy battles. His experience includes directing the public affairs strategy in critical issues for Eli Lilly, Google, AT&T, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for Legal Reform, to name just a few. He began his career as a journalist as a police reporter before moving to business and economics. As a journalist, he covered international economics at U.S. News and World Report, was managing editor of the quarterly journal Regulation, and worked as a reporter at Forbes, The Detroit Free Press, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram and The Miami Herald. Mr. Bork made the switch to advocacy in 1987 working at the Heritage Foundation, on Capitol Hill as an aide to U.S. Sen. Gordon Humphrey (R-NH), and as special assistant for U.S. Trade Representative Carla Hills. Throughout his career, Mr. Bork has specialized in the development and implementation of communication strategies in crises, litigation, and legal policy. In his many years of experience managing the public environment surrounding high-profile matters, he has worked directly with CEOs, general counsel, and communications executives of major U.S. and international corporations. Mr. Bork's range of experience includes antitrust, product liability, intellectual property, securities fraud, economic espionage, white-collar crime, mergers and acquisitions, First Amendment and employment discrimination. His work has been on behalf of clients ranging from the automobile industry to pharmaceuticals, computers, software, chemicals, railroads, franchising, telecommunications, insurance, health-care, and former manufacturers of lead pigment. In every matter he has worked directly with the client's legal counsel. Mr. Bork graduated from Carleton College with a degree in American history. He was a Herbert J. Davenport Fellow in Business and Economic Journalism at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. He lives in McLean, VA, with his wife (and general counsel) Diana. They have two children.
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Robert H. Bork Jr. is the President of the Antitrust Education Project, and recently reissued his father's book, The Antitrust Paradox: A Policy at War with Itself.