By 1994, Pearl Jam was "fighting on all fronts", as its manager described the band at the time. Reporter Chuck Philips broke a series of stories showing that Ticketmaster was gouging Pearl Jam's customers. Pearl Jam was outraged when, after it played a pair of charity benefit shows in Chicago, Illinois, it discovered that ticket vendor Ticketmaster had added a service charge to the tickets. Pearl Jam was committed to keeping their concert ticket prices down but Fred Rosen of Ticketmaster refused to waive the service charge. Since Ticketmaster controlled most major venues, the band was forced to create from scratch its own outdoor stadiums in rural areas in order to perform. Pearl Jam's efforts to organize a tour without the ticket giant collapsed, which Pearl Jam said was evidence of Ticketmaster's monopoly. An analysis of journalist Chuck Philips investigative series in a well known legal monograph concluded that it was hard to imagine a legitimate reason for Ticketmaster's exclusive contracts with venues and contracts which covered such a lengthy period of time. The authors said, "The pervasiveness of Ticketmaster's exclusive agreements, coupled with their excessive duration and the manner in which they are procured, supported a finding that Ticketmaster had engaged in anticompetitive conduct under section 2 of the Sherman Act."