Tommy Dorfman: My NYC Club Empire vs. Live Nation
KEY MOMENTS
0:00 – Intro: nightclub promoter Tommy Dorfman
0:47 – A speaker fire at Sound Factory
1:50 – Teen nights at Tunnel and Curfew
3:13 – Throwing house parties at 16
4:35 – Bridge-and-tunnel crowds and pre-smartphone clubs
6:47 – Run-ins with the mafia over club money
11:31 – The mob's history with New York gay bars
12:25 – Ecstasy, cocaine, and GHB in the clubs
15:34 – Fentanyl-laced drugs and overdoses today
17:11 – Bouncers, brawls, and paying for security
19:25 – Who gets in at the door
21:33 – Studio 54 and themed club nights
25:01 – Foam parties and the decline of nightlife
26:19 – How Live Nation took over EDM
28:50 – A planned EDM festival at the Meadowlands
30:53 – The 15-year lawsuit against Live Nation
32:08 – Blocked artists and a Live Nation ultimatum
35:31 – Ticketmaster's grip on venues and tickets
37:16 – Astroworld and venue security
38:03 – Congressional hearings and Kid Rock
38:52 – Funding the lawsuit with door-to-door sales
41:01 – Michael Rapino, ticket prices, and the future
43:56 – Where to follow the case
ABOUT THIS EPISODE
NYC nightclub legend Tommy Dorfman, who started throwing parties at 16 and packed out Sound Factory, Tunnel, and Limelight, joins Lou to talk about building a club empire from Jersey house parties, the golden age of NYC club culture, and how Live Nation allegedly destroyed it all in 2011.
We also get into parties for the Kardashians, Paris Hilton, Tiësto, and Swedish House Mafia, mob run-ins with guns on the table, GHB and why the old days were actually safer, the $100M+ MetLife Stadium festival deal Live Nation allegedly killed, his 15-year lawsuit, the DOJ making his case for him, and why ticket prices are a Live Nation problem, not an inflation problem.