The Department of Justice spent more than a year investigating Tim Leiweke’s involvement in a bid-rigging scheme tied to the construction of a new arena in Austin and was hoping to force Leiweke to testify in the government’s antitrust case, sources tell Billboard. 

Those plans changed last week thanks to a friendly round of golf between President Donald Trump and former Republican Congressman Trey Gowdy, who Leiweke hired to lobby on his behalf in the criminal case. First reported by the Wall Street Journal, the account has been confirmed to Billboard by a source with knowledge of the discussions. Leiweke, formerly the CEO of Oak View Group (OVG), had been treated unfairly by the DOJ, Gowdy argued, and had been singled out by overzealous government lawyers determined to punish him for his success. Gowdy contends that the alleged victim in the case the Texas Board of Regents for the state’s public university system — was happy with the deal it struck with Leiweke and did not feel cheated, even after learning that he had worked out a deal with concessionaire Legends Hospitality to not enter a competing bid for the construction project.

In the weeks that followed, Gowdy continued lobbying Trump, pointing out that other executives at OVG had been granted non-prosecution agreements after admitting that the company collected $20 million in upfront payments and $7 million a year to steer the company’s venue contracts to Ticketmaster. Gowdy’s lobbying paid off: On Wednesday (Dec. 3), Trump announced a full, unconditional pardon for Leiweke, wiping away months of investigative work by DOJ attorneys working under Assistant U.S. Attorney Gail Slater, a Trump appointee approved by the Senate in March. 

The day after the pardon, Leiweke sat for a previously scheduled deposition with the Department of Justice to discuss its separate antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation, according to court records. Leiweke, now a free man thanks to Trump’s executive order, opted not to answer questions from the government during the deposition, asserting his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, sources tell Billboard. Now, government officials are weighing whether to ask a judge to force Leiweke to answer some of its questions, prolonging a legal fight over Leiweke’s participation in the Live Nation antitrust case that’s been ongoing for months. 

Leiweke has long been seen as a key player in the Department of Justice’s antitrust probe into Live Nation, with the former OVG CEO identified by the DOJ as a self-described “pimp” and “hammer” for Live Nation. In a lengthy civil complaint filed in 2024 by the DOJ and 41 state attorneys general, Leiweke is alleged to have protected Live Nation’s dominance in the concert promotion business and steered the buildings OVG manages toward signing exclusive ticketing agreements with Ticketmaster, with OVG collecting millions of dollars in fees in the process. 

In July, nearly a year after the Live Nation civil suit, attorneys with the DOJ’s antitrust criminal division unsealed an indictment against Leiweke for allegedly restraining trade in his effort to win the right to build and manage the Moody Center arena for the University of Texas. Leiweke is alleged to have conspired with the former head of Legends Hospitality to rig the bidding for the project and faced a 10-year prison sentence if convicted of the charges.  

That’s now off the table following Trump’s pardon, which was a surprise since Leiweke was not on the list of 15,000 Americans requesting a pardon from the president. In fact, of the more than 1,600 people pardoned by Trump this year, Leiweke was one of just six who had not been convicted at trial or sentenced to prison. And while OVG regularly spent hundreds of thousands of dollars a year on lobbying, neither Leiweke nor OVG were major donors to Trump or either the Republican or Democratic parties, though OVG did make a $250,000 donation to Trump’s inauguration following the 2024 election.  

DOJ lawyers insist that Leiweke’s criminal case is not related to the Live Nation civil case, but the proximity of the deposition and Leiweke’s pardon provide a glimpse into the DOJ antitrust division’s long-running effort to force the executive to talk about OVG’s relationship with the concert giant. 

“There are a couple of categories of relevant information that Mr. Leiweke has as it relates to agreements between Oak View Group and Live Nation,” DOJ antitrust lawyer Alex Cohen argued in a Denver federal courtroom in July, a week after attorneys from the antitrust department’s criminal division announced an indictment against Leiweke.  

Cohen was in court opposing a motion by Leiweke’s attorney to halt the deposition, arguing that Leiweke held critical information about “venue consulting services, agreements not to consult on concert promotions and venues to Ticketmaster pursuant to a 2022 incentive deal” between Live Nation and OVG.  

Leiweke is “a very important fact witness,” Cohen said during the July 17 hearing in front of judge R. Brook Jackson, noting that none of the questions he had for Leiweke “are relevant for the criminal indictment,” but examined how OVG helps Live Nation “maintain its monopolies in concert promotion.” 

During the July hearing, Jackson asked, “If you take his deposition and he asserts the Fifth [Amendment], then you won’t be getting any information with respect to those questions, right?” Cohen responded, “That is correct. Although as we’ve said, we do not believe that his invocation of the Fifth Amendment to all potential questions would necessarily be appropriate,” noting that his office might “seek relief” from the courts if Leiweke didn’t answer those questions. 

The deposition wasn’t the DOJ’s first interview with Leiweke, who was interviewed prior to the filing of the DOJ lawsuit against Live Nation in 2024. Cohen said the DOJ has deposed two other OVG executives who both indicated Leiweke had “unique individual knowledge about certain arrangements and conduct” between the two firms. 

Now that Leiweke has pled the Fifth, Cohen will have to ask a judge to force him to testify if the DOJ wants to take a second shot at deposing him and prove to a judge that the answers it seeks won’t incriminate the former OVG CEO. If a DOJ civil attorney can’t compel a judge to make Leiweke testify, it might have to request that the DOJ’s criminal division grant him criminal immunity to force him to talk.

Taylor Swift pushed herself to the limits while executing the Eras Tour, and in a teaser for the fast-approaching Disney+ docuseries on how she pulled it off, the pop superstar acknowledges that doing so was “the biggest challenge” of her career.

Two days ahead of the premiere of her End of an Era project on Disney+, Swift shared an exclusive teaser for the first two episodes with Good Morning America on Wednesday (Dec. 10). The clip shows footage of the singer running intense rehearsals with her backup dancers and practicing surprise guest appearances with the likes of Florence Welch and Ed Sheeran.

“This was the biggest challenge any of us has ever done,” Swift says in a talking head, at one point wiping away a tear during an emotional moment. “Every single night, we’re going to do everything in our power to blow your mind.”

The first two episodes of End of an Era will arrive on Disney+ on Friday (Dec. 12), just one day before Swift’s 36th birthday. They are expected to delve into how the 14-time Grammy winner not only got her three-hour showcase off the ground night after night, but how she changed the setlist entirely partway through her two-year run to incorporate The Tortured Poets Department into the show.

“We had to be all hands on desk to put a new era into the show,” she says in the new teaser.

After the first two episodes of the six-part doc arrive, the next installments will be released on the streaming service on a weekly basis. The first people who got to see the project, though, were Swift’s band, dancers and family, whom she hosted for a private screening in New York City on Tuesday night (Dec. 9).

Watch the new GMA teaser for Taylor Swift’s End of an Era docuseries above.

Warner Records Group has appointed veteran A&R executive Jeff Sosnow as president of Reprise Records, adding to his current role as evp of A&R for Warner Records. Based in Los Angeles, Sosnow will report to WRG co-chairman and CEO Aaron Bay-Schuck. 

In his expanded remit, Sosnow will oversee the next chapter of Reprise — a storied imprint founded by Frank Sinatra in 1960 and originally helmed by industry icon Mo Ostin — while continuing to guide Warner’s A&R strategy.

Sosnow has played a pivotal role in shaping Warner’s roster, which includes Benson Boone, Rufus du Sol, Nessa Barrett, Billy Strings, Brandy Clark and The Neighbourhood. His success in driving hits for Boone, du Sol, and Strings earned him Billboard’s Executive of the Week in early 2024. Since joining Warner Bros. Records in 2012, Sosnow has worked with a wide range of artists, from Deftones and Orville Peck to AJR and Tegan and Sara, and previously helped break acts like TV On The Radio, Major Lazer and The All-American Rejects.

“Reprise stands in a league of its own, with a legacy of groundbreaking artists and timeless records, and Jeff brings the vision, taste, and experience to honor that history while leading it into its next chapter,” said Bay Schuck.

Sosnow added: “From the start of my career, my passion has always been championing artists—helping them turn their stories, struggles, and dreams into music that reaches people everywhere. I’m incredibly honored to do that at Warner Records, and deeply grateful to Aaron and Tom [Corson] for their belief, guidance, and trust. It’s a privilege to now lead Reprise—a label I’ve long admired—and I’m excited to build on its legacy.”

Reprise Records, acquired by Warner Bros. in 1963, has long been recognized as an artist-first label with a legacy of groundbreaking releases from Neil Young, Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell, Wilco and The Kinks, among many others. Today, it operates as a distinct imprint within Warner Records Group.

It’s been a busy 24 hours for Warner Music Group, which named Craig Kallman chief music officer on Tuesday (Dec. 9). Additionally, Warner Music Australasia and Southeast Asia announced key promotions. Alex Young steps up as VP of domestic artists for Australasia, overseeing A&R, creative and marketing, while Dan Ellis becomes vp of international artist strategy for the region, leading efforts to expand WMG’s global offering.

In 2024, the top 10 of Billboard’s year-end Top Tours chart included a group of familiar names, with Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, The Rolling Stones and U2 lining up at Nos. 5-7, plus Metallica at No. 10. Familiar, as in 51 combined year-end top 10 appearances dating back to the inaugural list in 1991. This year, none of them appear, coinciding with rock’s worst overall showing in Boxscore history, dating to the first year-end list in 1991.

Among this year’s top 100 tours, 30 are by rock artists. Of the top 100 tours’ combined $9.1 billion gross, according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore, $2.7 billion, or 30.2% comes from rock acts. That share is down from 36% last year and slips behind the genre’s previous low of 31.8% in 2018.

The figures above show that rock was stronger in 2024 than in 2018, not to mention a post-COVID high of 42.5% in 2022. These numbers ebb and flow from year to year, often impacted by quirks of scheduling as much as industry trends. Still, rock’s loosened grip over the Boxscore charts is a continuation of decades-long decay. On average, the genre represented 65% of the top 100 gross during the 1990s, before dipping to 57% in the 2000s, 43% in the 2010s, and 35% for the 2020s so far.

While rock’s dominance wanes, it isn’t over yet. At 30.2%, it’s still close to double pop’s share and more than double that of country and R&B. In fact, the year’s biggest tour is by a rock band. But even 25 years removed from that band’s debut album, it represents a shift away from classic rock.

Coldplay is No. 1 on the year-end charts for Top Tours (ranked by gross revenue), Top Ticket Sales (ranked by attendance), Top Boxscores (noting individual concert engagements), and by default, Top Rock Tours. Imagine Dragons follows at No. 4 on Top Ticket Sales and No. 7 on Top Tours with 2.1 million tickets sold and $241.6 million. Neither band is brand new, but they are relatively young to be leading their genre, which has long relied on classic rock acts – artists from the 1960s, ‘70s, and ‘80s – to rule the Boxscore charts. Coldplay and Imagine Dragons are firmly 21st-century hitmakers, having made their first Billboard chart appearances in 2000 and 2012, respectively.

Since rock has historically loomed so large over the Top Tours tally, it makes sense that as it skews younger, so does the entire chart. On average, this year’s top 100 touring acts are 45.8 years old. That is younger than it’s been in over a decade, but by a narrow margin. Dating back to 2012, the average age has fluctuated between 45 and 50.

Zeroing in on the top 10, the average age plunges to 37.8 years old, down 31% from last year, below 40 for the first time since 2001, and lower than it’s been in more than 30 years. Coldplay and Shakira are the oldest acts in the top 10, both at 48. Stray Kids bookends the top 10, averaging 26 years among its eight members. Beyoncé and the members of Imagine Dragons are in their 40s, while Chris Brown, Kendrick Lamar, Post Malone, Ed Sheeran, and SZA are in their 30s.

When the top 10 was last this young in 1991-92, the list was stacked with classic rock acts. To state the obvious, 30 years ago, those artists were 30 years younger. The entire industry of contemporary popular music was itself, much younger. But even as these acts have aged and continued to produce chart-topping tours, the average age on Boxscore charts has declined because the slate of arena and stadium acts has diversified, with new stars of pop, hip-hop, K-pop, Latin, and more matching the biggest rock headliners.

Only three of rock’s 30 artists in the top 100 are younger than Imagine Dragons (average age 40): The Lumineers (39), Hozier (35), and Sam Fender (31). On the other hand, the second most prominent genre on the year-end chart – pop, 16.9% of the top 100 grosses – boasts some of the chart’s youngest artists: Benson Boone is 23, and Tate McRae and Olivia Rodrigo are both 22.

With 100 open positions, the year-end Top Tours chart has more than enough room to encompass an expansive group of artists, with rock playing a massive part. Paul McCartney, Rod Stewart, and The Who continue to rack up sold-out grosses into their 80s. Metallica and Springsteen sported lighter touring schedules than in 2024 but still finish the year at Nos. 20 and 22, respectively, with Iron Maiden and Eagles both above $150 million. Deftones and System of a Down hit new career highs, 30 years into their careers. 21st century standouts Linkin Park and My Chemical Romance displayed sustained momentum from comebacks earlier this decade. Notably, despite not reporting to Billboard Boxscore, Brit-pop icons Oasis created hysteria in stadiums and breathless buzz online for their long-awaited reunion tour.

The decline of rock music on the charts has been well documented, but it’s been a slower and more stable drop-off when it comes to Boxscore because the Stones, Springsteen, and many more have deep discographies and fan bases with disposable income, able to continue selling out stadiums decades after their last top 40 hits. But as the genre fails to generate new stars at the rate of pop, Latin, and more, where does that leave it?

Rock is not dead. It’s still responsible for more top-100 tours than any other genre, and for the second consecutive year, has the highest-grossing and best-selling tour. But instead of having the entire pie – rock represented the top nine tours in 1992 – it has a reasonable, still huge, piece of it with two of this year’s top 10 acts and 30 of the top 100. It’s encouraging for the entire touring industry that a wide swath of other genres has competitively scaled to stadiums, but rock bands continue to pack the world’s biggest venues in the lineage of the last century’s biggest headliners.