Trump ally joins Live Nation's board of directors

International ticketing and live entertainment company Live Nation has this week announced that an ally of US President Donald Trump has joined its board of directors, amidst an ongoing investigation by the US Department of Justice.

As the Trump presidency's focus on the rollback of DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) initiatives started to take real world effect, one of Trump's first actions was the takeover of Washington D.C.'s Kennedy Center. The president just earlier this week, reflecting on this takeover, shared that "the programming was out of control with rampant political propaganda, DEI, and inappropriate shows,” Trump said. “They had dance parties for quote ‘queer and trans youth.’ And I guess that’s all right for certain people.… But that wasn’t working out too well.”

After installing himself as chairman of the venue in February of this year, Trump appointed Richard Grenell, a former acting director of national intelligence, as its president.

Several shows were cancelled following this appointment, including a concert by the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, and a production of 'Finn', a coming-of-age children's musical about a young shark who "feels different from other sharks".

In a highly publicised series of emails between Grenell and award-winning musician Yasmin Williams, a regular performer at the performing arts centre, Grenell told Williams:

“Every single person who cancelled a show did so because they couldn’t be in the presence of Republicans... The programs are so woke that they haven’t made money... Yes, I cut the DEI bullshit because we can’t afford to pay people for fringe and niche programming that the public won’t support."

Live Nation's appointment of Grenell to its board comes as the company faces a DOJ (Department of Justice) lawsuit, initiated in May of last year. The lawsuit accuses the company of "monopolisation and other unlawful conduct that thwarts competition in markets across the live entertainment industry."

Of the appointment, Chairman of Live Nation Randall Mays said, “We’re pleased to welcome Ric to our Board. His experience will provide valuable insight as we continue to contribute to a thriving live music industry globally.”

Grenell said in his own statement that "the power of live performances to bring people together while boosting local economies is transformative. I’m proud to join the board and support Live Nation’s efforts to grow the positive impact of concerts around the world.”

Social media giant Meta appointed fellow Trump ally and former national security advisor, Patrick Collison, to its board of directors just last month. Whether this trend will continue across other major companies will remain to be seen.

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Jack Colquhoun is Mixmag ANZ's Managing Editor, find him on Instagram.