Episode 602 – Indie Promoter Tommy Dorfman Takes On The Biggest Name In Live Music

In this episode of Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle, Bobby sits down with Tommy Dorfman, a veteran club promoter and founder of Juice Entertainment.

Tommy shares how he built a powerhouse promotion empire from scratch, packed out venues across New Jersey and New York, pioneered the East Coast house music scene, and went head-to-head with Live Nation.

His story dives deep into the grind of promotion, the mafia encounters, and a David-versus-Goliath lawsuit that could reshape the live music industry.

If you’ve ever wondered how the live music machine really works, this one is unmissable.

Key Takeaways:
• How Tommy started promoting events at age 15 to pay his own rent
• Why house parties were the gateway to building a nightlife empire
• The moment Tommy packed 1,500 people into a club on a Wednesday night
• Inside the gritty hustle of street-level promotion before social media
• How Tommy ran Myspace’s live events division on the East Coast
• A firsthand account of mafia threats and how he stood his ground
• How Live Nation allegedly forced him out of a major festival deal
• The 15-year legal fight against Live Nation and what’s at stake
• Why ticket prices are skyrocketing—and who’s really to blame
• What Tommy hopes to change for fans, artists, and independent promoters

Best Moments:
00:00:07. “I started off throwing parties because of a necessity. We lived in houses of my own. At 15 or 16 years old.”
00:01:02. “People were like, yeah, this is awesome, man. You just get paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to chill with celebrities and drink champagne. Nah. You work your ass off for it.”
00:02:52. “I do my first successful solo party in New Jersey, like in 1997. Packed it out with over 1,500 people. On a Wednesday night.”
00:03:35. “Then I started on a Thursday party packing that was one of the most successful parties in New Jersey history.”
00:04:14. “We started promoting