What happens when one company dominates every aspect of an industry—from venues and ticketing to artist access and local politics? In this in-depth interview, The Capitol Forum’s Teddy Downey speaks with Tommy Dorfman, former promoter and now CEO of Juice Entertainment, about his extraordinary 15-year legal battle against Live Nation and Ticketmaster.

Dorfman alleges that Live Nation used anti-competitive tactics—backed by its control of Ticketmaster—to force him out of the industry, block access to artists, and coerce state-run venues. His claims include:

Closed-door threats and pressure to enter a forced partnership

A nationwide pattern of leveraging rebates to inflate ticket prices

Control over municipal venues, artist touring, and even event security

As the U.S. Department of Justice pursues its own case against Live Nation, Dorfman makes a broader argument: that monopolistic control in the live events industry suppresses competition, stifles independent promoters, and ultimately harms artists and consumers alike.

A story of market power, legal resilience, and the changing economics of live music.

Ari Paparo has done it all in digital advertising—from DoubleClick and Google to founding Beeswax and covering the DOJ antitrust trial as an independent analyst.

In this conversation with Capitol Forum Executive Editor Teddy Downey, Ari shares his insider take on:

📌 Google’s ad tech dominance

📌 Why publishers lost control

📌 What the DOJ’s remedies get wrong

📌 The real reason Google is fighting so hard

📌 How ad markets could be reformed—and who might fill the vacuum

Ari walks us through the industry's tangled history and what it would take to create a truly open digital ad market.