NASHVILLE (AP) - As Tennessee lawmakers consider a proposal to crack down on ticket scalping, a Nashville lawyer who opposes the bill alleges that a manager of The Black Keys tried to persuade him to change his position in exchange for tickets to a performance by the band.
Attorney John Ray Clemmons said in a letter that he was disturbed by the repeated efforts by Fielding Logan, who also manages country star Eric Church, to give him tickets.
"I took time out of my schedule to come share my concerns with your committee about legislation as a member of the general public, not to be harassed by a supercilious entertainment manager," Clemmons wrote in the letter to Senate Commerce Chairman Jack Johnson, R-Franklin. The letter was first reported by WTVF-TV.
Logan acknowledged in his own follow-up letter to Johnson that he offered the tickets to Clemmons. But he said the gesture was only meant to demonstrate how easily paperless tickets ca n be transferred to charities.
"I never asked - not verbally and not in writing - that (Clemmons) refrain from giving testimony in front of the Senate Commerce Committee that day," Logan wrote. "In fact, I only said that I believed the premise of his testimony to be incorrect."
Senate Clerk Russell Humphrey forwarded Clemmons' letter to Nashville District Attorney Torry Johnson.
Spokeswoman Susan Niland said the prosecutor's office had not yet received the letter and couldn't speculate on whether any laws might have been broken.
Opponents of the bill backed by Ticketmaster parent Live Nation Worldwide Inc. argue it would affect the legitimate transfer of tickets by individuals and organizations. Supporters say it targets online hoarding, price gouging and forgeries