While mega-mogul Irving Azoff reportedly says that his term as manager of The Black Keys alongside Steve Moir ended amicably, the band’s drummer apparently has more to say on the matter. Patrick Carney, the drummer of the rock duo alongside guitarist Dan Auerbach, fired off an angry message on X late Sunday with a promise for more details to come on the messy breakup that followed the cancellation of the band’s fall arena tour amid rumors that poor sales were to blame.
“We got f**ked,” Carney posted on the social media platform on June 10th (at 3:34 am). “I’ll let you all know how so it doesn’t happen to you. Stay tuned.”
As of Tuesday morning, the drummer hasn’t posted any further information on the subject, but it is clear that the parting of ways with the management giant wasn’t as amicable as its public relations representatives would like people to believe. Azoff and Moir were fired by the Ohio-based duo last week, after having managed them since 2021. That came less than two weeks after news broke that the band had cancelled its entire International Players Tour, which many blamed on the outrageous ticket prices the band and its management were attempting to charge for the run of 30+ arena dates.
In the wake of that call, as well as signs that other tours have struggled to sell tickets in the current “surge pricing” ticket era, many in the media have openly begun to question if there are serious issues with the touring situation in North America, driven by a tiny cabal of businessmen wielding enormous market power.
The tickets are too expensive,” one fan told NBC News of the current ticket pricing mess. “There’s only a SMALL amount of people (10%) that will spend $500+ on vip/floor/premium. The rest of us have budgets and won’t spend $100 on nosebleeds.”
“Everyone is touring this year … and we only have money for 2-3 concerts MAX,” she added.
Azoff, in particular, has seen his outsized role in the live events space covered in a very harsh light of late. Oak View Group, a company he co-founded alongside ex AEG CEO Tim Leiweke was prominently mentioned in the Department of Justice’s antitrust lawsuit aimed at breaking up Live Nation and Ticketmaster The venue management firm was accused of serving as Live Nation’s “pimp” and “hammer” by the feds, who say Azoff and Live Nation leadership opted to collude rather than compete to avoid allowing artists to drive up compensation or ticket prices to fall.
His sprawling role in the industry over the past 50 years was examined in sharp detail by a report in The American Prospect published shortly after the DOJ lawsuit was filed. Even more recently, Azoff’s role in driving Dead & Company’s decision to oust a longtime VIP/experiences business partner in favor of Live Nation’s Vibee platform for shows at The Sphere – a venue run by former Azoff MSG Entertainment partner James Dolan, at a venue which Azoff continues to serve as a consultant on.
Much of the response to Carney’s post has centered on the likelihood that Azoff – who has a nasty reputation in the industry – may have sold the band on the tour pricing and routing plan and then failed to deliver.
“My guess here,” posted Full Cast and Crew Podcast in response to Carney, “Band was sold a strong bill of goods to leave prior management, including a big tour which was lined up either in ignorance of or avoidance of market headwinds, to fulfill promises made. “Tour soft sales on launch is thus and unforced error by new management, who then either cut and runs with the self-serving statement or is dropped by act for failure to deliver on promises made.”
Plenty of others chided the band for the choice to go along with the ticket pricing plan and arena bookings, given the length of time since it has released a track that has reached significant popularity.
According to the band’s announcement of the tour being cancelled, plans are underway to bring The Black Keys on the road this fall, just in a more intimate venue setting than arenas. It is unclear if the band has selected new management for the planning of this run, or when it will be announced.
TicketNews will update this story if Carney decides to share more information regarding this messy breakup.
