Touring
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English metal legends Judas Priest are playing Power Trip festival in Indio, California, after rocker Ozzy Osbourne announced Monday that he would not be performing at the metal-themed festival produced by Goldenvoice.
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Osbourne had been scheduled to perform alongside AC/DC, Guns N Roses, Tool, Metallica and Iron Maiden Oct. 6-8 but pulled out of the festival Monday, telling fans in an Instagram message “My original plan was to return to the stage in the summer of 2024, and when the offer to do this show came in, I optimistically moved forward. Unfortunately, my body is telling me that I’m just not ready yet and I am much too proud to have the first show that I do in nearly five years be half-assed.”
He continued, “The band that will be replacing me on Power Trip will be announced shortly. They are personal friends of mine and I can promise that you will not be disappointed.”
Power Trip is taking place at the Empire Polo Field, the same site used to host the annual Coachella music festival, as well as the annual Stagecoach country music festival. It follows the Goldenvoice-produced Desert Trip festival in 2016 that was headlined by the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Roger Waters, Neil Young, Bob Dylan and The Who. Ticket prices start at $599, covering all three days. Single-day tickets are not currently for sale.
Judas Priest toured extensively in 2022 and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that year, but does not currently have any shows on the books for 2023. The band is booked to play a European tour in spring 2024. Led by vocalist Rob Halford, Judas Priest has toured extensively with Osbourne and had been scheduled to tour with him in 2022 before that tour had to be postponed for health reasons.
Osbourne’s health struggles also led to a March announcement that he was canceling his upcoming 2023 U.K. and European tour dates due to a spinal injury.
“My singing voice is fine. However, after three operations, stem cell treatments, endless physical therapy sessions, and most recently groundbreaking Cybernics (HAL) Treatment, my body is still physically weak,” Osbourne wrote on Instagram at the time.
A third-party software provider is to blame for a major disruption to a ticket sale for six Taylor Swift shows in France, according to a statement issued by Ticketmaster France. “This morning’s sale was disrupted by an issue with a third-party vendor who is working to resolve the issue as soon as possible,” the company […]
Sacré bleu! Ticketmaster France pressed pause on the presales for four Paris dates and both shows in Lyon for Taylor Swift‘s 2024 European Eras Tour.
“Some of you may be having issues with the site this morning,” the company tweeted on Tuesday morning. “We are working on it and will let you know.”
The four Paris dates at La Défense Arena on May 9, 10, 11 and 12, 2024 were set to go on sale today in two stages, with one sale for May 9 and 10 opening at 9 a.m. local time and another, for May 11 and May 12, due to start at 11 a.m. Sales for the two dates at Lyon’s Groupama Stadium, set for June 2 and 3, were due to begin at 1 p.m.
“We will keep you informed of the new on-sale time as soon as possible,” the company said. “All codes will remain valid.”
As in past presales, fans had to sign up in order to be put into a lottery for code to redeem for a shot at tickets. But shortly after the Paris sale had begun, “winning” fans began having problems and Ticketmaster suspended the presale, citing issues with the site.
Leading up to the sale, the company gave fans an idea of what to expect:
Tickets will be available for purchase via the website for access code holders on July 11, 2023. Tickets will be sold on a first come, first served basis while currently available inventory lasts. It’s a simple, standard purchase process and the steps below will help you navigate your search and purchase.
If you are selected to receive an access code, you will receive an email and two SMS messages the afternoon before ticket sales begins on July 11 2023
The messages will include timing details and a link to where the on-sale will occur, and your unique access code.
Prepare for the sale by creating your customer account in advance if you don’t already have one. Sign-in to your Ticketmaster Account in advance. Know your Ticketmaster password, or reset your password in advance. For a faster checkout, make sure you have a valid credit card with updating billing information in your account.
The company did not respond to a request for details on the nature of the site outage.
Though “July 11” won’t carry the same stain as “Nov. 15” — the date Ticketmaster’s site buckled under the weight of millions of Swift fans trying to purchase initial U.S. Eras Tour dates — it remains another botched sale for a Swift sale for the ticketing giant.
Last week, Swift announced an additional 14 dates for her European trip next year, with Paramore opening all dates. Swift’s Eras Tour launched in Glendale, Arizona on March 17. She plays two nights at Denver’s Empower Field this weekend before heading to Seattle and the San Jose area later in July.
After unleashing his 26-track album Pink Tape on June 30, Lil Uzi Vert’s foot remains on the gas as they announce their first headlining trek in five years with the Pink Tape Tour. Produced by Live Nation, the Pink Tape Tour will kick off Oct. 21 in Minneapolis at The Armory, and will travel through […]
Singer-songwriter Jelly Roll and his wife Bunnie XO are fast becoming one of country music’s biggest power couples — and now, the social media personality and host of the popular Dumb Blonde podcast is ready to show their fans some love.
On her Instagram Stories, Bunnie revealed that when Jelly Roll launches his 2023 Backroad Baptism Tour later this month, she will be hosting meet-and-greets, featuring Bunnie, Jelly Roll, and their entire crew.
She noted that Patreon followers get first dibs at meet-and-greet opportunities, and attendees will receive “Bunnie bundles” filled with gifts. “I love you guys. I can’t wait to touch all your butts and give you big kisses on tour,” Bunnie told fans in her video.
Bunnie first teased the meet and greet package in a TikTok video last month, where she said that she had seen fans wondering where she was at her hubby’s latest shows. “So, every night that J has a concert, I get a lot of you tagging me upset that I’m not there. Just want you guys to know that your girl is preserving her energy for the next four months.”
She also noted that those who purchase meet-and-greet packages must also have a ticket to one of Jelly Roll’s tourdates. “Without one of these tickets in hand, you cannot come to the meet-and-greet,” Bunnie noted. Jelly Roll’s tour will features openers including Ashley McBryde, Chase Rice, Struggle Jennings and Elle King.
Jelly Roll, known for his No. 1 hits including the Country Airplay chart-topper “Son of a Sinner” and No. 1 rock single “Dead Man Walking,” was recently featured on the cover of Billboard’s Country Power Players issue. As part of the story, Jelly Roll discussed the incredibly positive impact Bunnie, whom he married in 2016, has had on his life, including helping him to get custody of his daughter. Jelly Roll calls her “a beacon of change in my life. You’re talking about a woman that came in and took a child that was soon to be born and a child that [we were] soon to have full custody of,” he told Billboard. “I would have never got custody of my daughter without her. I wouldn’t have had the stability or the money.”
Check out Bunnie’s TikTok below:
Live Nation’s next venture is less about staging rock, pop and hip-hop extravaganzas, and all about mindfulness.
The live entertainment giant today (July 6) launches the Mindful Nation app, an online space where music meets meditation for a necessary mental health break.
Mindful Nation goes wide with over 1,000 meditation classes featuring special beats curated by leading producers and independent artists, including Janax Pacha, Mose Musica and Chris IDH.
According to LN, users of the app can expect to tap into daily trainer-led classes tuned to “various vibes, on-demand classes for mind, sleep, and day-to-day life, music playlists” and “breathe with the beat” exercises.
Noel Gallagher, leader of the British rock outfit the High Flying Birds and Oasis co-founder, has tested the app and given it a resounding thumbs-up.
“Writing music and albums is one kind of meditation,” the legendary Manchester artist explains, “you have to go into a particular state to do it. Music is meditation to me so for Niamh to create Mindful Nation makes so much sense. Music is the gateway to finding that higher place of peace and this platform will allow for more people to access meditation in a way that makes sense to them. It’s really cool.”
The mindfulness platform is the brainchild of Niamh McCarthy, a former artist manager who worked for Madonna and U2’s management team at Maverick. McCarthy, like so many others in the business, experienced burnout on the road. She unlocked some of the solutions through meditation, breathwork, and yoga, and “made it her mission” to share those self-help gifts with the wider music industry.
The in-app classes “are like a timeless album, never out of date,” she explains. “Users can keep going back to these resources again and again to support themselves through the highs and lows of life.”
Mindful Nation is part of LN’s commitment to supporting mental health for music industry professionals, many of whom work long hours, well after dark, and spend long stretches on the road – a long way from their comfort zones. Factor-in the pandemic, and it’s a business that can take a toll.
“We first launched Mindful Nation as a program for our employees,” says Michael Rapino, CEO and president of Live Nation, “and it’s great to see Niamh now bringing the benefits of mindfulness to touring artists and crew across our industry, as well as music fans.”
Live Nation has also invested in mental health support for the broader industry, including Music Industry Therapist Collective and Tour Support, and by raising money for Support Act, Australia’s music industry charity.
Download the app via the Apple App Store.
TikTok is helping bring Tomorrowland 2023 to the world.
On Wednesday (July 5), the dance mega-festival announced the video-sharing platform as its official content partner for the event, which is taking place over two weekends in Boom, Belgium: July 21-23 and July 28-30.
The partnership will include TikTok LIVE broadcasts of headline performances from the festival’s main stage, along with behind-the-scenes footage and video-on-demand content from artists and other creators. TikTok will stream Tomorrowland content 24 hours a day across both weekends.
Additionally, the partnership encompasses in-app playlists, a search hub and activations designed to make it easier for TikTok users to find content from the festival.
“We’re delighted to be partnering with Tomorrowland, one of the world’s biggest and most iconic festivals,” TikTok business development lead of global music content and partnerships Michael Kümmerle said in a statement. “With its legendary line-up and global audience, Tomorrowland is the perfect festival partner for our flourishing community of #ElectronicMusic lovers who congregate on TikTok. As our relationship with the genre deepens, we’re incredibly excited to help grow the festival further by giving our community 24 live streams and a 360-degree experience of Tomorrowland on TikTok.”
Tomorrowland 2023 is set to host more than 600 artists across 14 stages. Performers include Afrojack, Alesso, Armin van Buuren, Black Coffee, the Chainsmokers, Claptone, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Dom Dolla, Don Diablo, Eric Prydz, Hardwell, John Newman, Martin Garrix, Netsky, Nicky Romero, Oliver Heldens, Paul Kalkbrenner, Purple Disco Machine, Robin Schulz, Sebastian Ingrosso, Shaquille O’Neal as DJ Diesel, Steve Angello, Steve Aoki, Tiësto, Timmy Trumpet, Topic and W&W.
The festival is once again set to host 400,000 fans each weekend.
After spending over three decades in the music business, progressive metal titan Dream Theater knows that its complex musical compositions — which have clocked running times exceeding 30 minutes — aren’t an easy sell. So the band long ago established itself as a road warrior, relying on fan loyalty and live performance for sustenance. After weathering the blow of the 2020 pandemic, the quintet resumed touring in February 2022. In April, the act had another highlight with its first Grammy Award win in the best metal performance category, for “The Alien” from its 2021 album A View From the Top of the World.
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This June, Dream Theater launched its Dreamsonic tour, a 29-date North American trek featuring a multiact lineup that wraps July 26 in Phoenix. And though Dream Theater has presented its concerts in “an evening with” format longer than even co-founder/guitarist John Petrucci can remember, he promises “something different” on this outing while chatting with Billboard from Hollywood, Fla., where the band played the city’s Hard Rock Live Arena. Rounding out the bill on the inaugural jaunt are djent stylists Animals As Leaders and experimentalist Devin Townsend.
Once Dream Theater finishes Dreamsonic, Petrucci will return to the Sunshine State Aug. 3-6 for the fourth edition of his band camp, John Petrucci’s Guitar Universe. The W Hotel in Fort Lauderdale hosts the four-day stretch of master classes, concerts and jam sessions that boasts an all-star lineup of guitar instructors and encourages musicians from beginners to virtuosos to attend. According to johnpetruccisguitaruniverse.com, “The span of the players in this camp — stylistically, age, gender, nationality — represents a cross-section of the guitar community all in one spot.”
Below, Petrucci discusses the ideation and execution of Dreamsonic, plus future plans for the band and its new “traveling festival.”
What does the band aim to do with Dreamsonic?
What we we’re trying to do is something different from the usual sort of “an evening with” that we do during a normal tour cycle. We wanted to put together our own package that represented a cross-section of different bands in the prog metal genre, under that umbrella, and have it be a traveling, branded tour. In this case, we call it Dreamsonic so that we could bring this back at any time, at any place in the world, and have a different collection of bands.
Since we started, the genre has grown, and prog rock and prog metal have expanded to mean all these different things. So it’s kind of interesting how many bands are out there, but they’re doing slightly different things. And this inaugural run is a prime example of that because Animals As leaders and Devin Townsend and Dream Theater are all considered prog metal bands, but we’re all doing it in a very different way. That’s what this tour is all about.
How long has Dream Theater been doing “an evening with” format?
I’m not sure when we started that. It definitely has been some time now. The last couple of runs that we did, we did stray from that for the first time and took out a single opener on a run we did through Europe and in the U.S. But for the most part, we’ve been doing “an evening with” since I can remember now. There’s a couple reasons [for that]. One is that our fans really appreciate and want to see us in that context because there’s just so much material to dive into. And the second reason is because there’s so much material to dive into. Putting together a three-hour show is easy. There’s so much, and we have so many epics that take up a ton of time. So the challenge becomes, in this circumstance on the Dreamsonic tour, [that] we have to make our set an hour-and-a-half.
Why were Animals As Leaders and Devin Townsend chosen for this first run?
There’s a couple reasons with this type of thing, with all the bands on tour and so many different schedules that every band is in the midst of, whether they be in the studio or touring or doing festivals overseas. You come up with your list of bands that you’d like to see [on the bill], and then the next part is seeing which ones will coincide with the time period you’re looking at. Both Devin and Animals were looking to go out in the summer in the U.S., so that just worked out perfectly.
Are you following the prototype of any particular festival?
You know, I’ve been calling it a festival, but I guess when you imagine a festival, you picture a weekend and there’s many bands over the course of that weekend, and it’s just in one spot … Years ago, we did Dave Mustaine’s Gigantour … It’s in the vein of that, where there’s a bunch of bands and it’s a traveling tour, so I’m not sure what the technical word for it is when it travels like that. So I’m calling it a festival. (Laughs.) A traveling festival.
It’s early days, but do you hope to expand the lineup in the future?
Yeah, definitely. This is the type of thing where we can embark on this at any point, whether it be [for] an album touring cycle or whether it be during some downtime or whatever. This is the inaugural run; we decided to do it in the U.S., but we could really bring this anywhere: Europe, Asia, South America. And as far as the lineup, I think the beauty of this is that, again, there are so many bands that we know of … some that have been around for a while, some that are super young, that are doing this type of thing in their own way, and that’s the beauty of it. We can put together endless combinations of groups that would present a great, entertaining, really cool show packed with music, but still be diverse and different enough in the style of the bands.
Is it more difficult to launch an endeavor like this in this tough economy than when you typically go on the road?
Well, everything is more difficult now, just across the board, so I guess the short answer is yes. But everybody is experiencing the same thing, so it’s something that you navigate the best that you could. And we’re cognizant as well [about] what is happening in the economy and how many tours are out post-COVID-19 shutdown. We’re conscious of ticket prices and trying to make these events not too crazy and somewhat affordable. All the challenges that are out there, with venues and gas prices and equipment and rentals and trucks and crew — I mean, every band is facing the same thing, so you just sort of deal with it and you have a team together, hopefully, that knows how to manage and negotiate these things in the best way that you can, which we do. We have a very, very strong team.
Do you have any dates on the books for Dreamsonic once the tour is done?
No, this will be the end of the tour cycle for us. We’ve been touring for quite a while now in support of A View From the Top of the World, which is the latest Dream Theater record … Dreamsonic will actually be the last touring that we’ll do for 2023, and at some point, we’ll move on to working on a new record.
Do you anticipate doing Dreamsonic annually, or will it go out when it feels right?
I think it’s when we feel it’s the right time to do it. Annually is a little tough because sometimes we’re in the studio a certain year, or we’re back to “an evening with” and supporting the record in that format. So I think this is going to be the type of thing that when the timing feels right, then we’ll do it. But I think the important thing with the inaugural run was really getting all the infrastructure and everything in place, and building and establishing a brand so it’s something we could take out in the future. And hopefully, when people hear that name, Dreamsonic, they’ll know it’s going to be a showcase of some of the best prog metal in the world.
At the end of the night, do members from all three bands do any type of jam together?
Yes, we do, actually. I look forward to it every night for the encore. We play the song “The Spirit Carries On” from [1999’s Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory] album, which is such a Dream Theater fan favorite. It’s such a great moment in the show regardless, but we kick it up a notch by having Devin and a couple of guys from his band, and [Tosin] Abasi comes out from Animals. Everyone’s standing up smiling, crying, singing and it just creates this great [moment of] camaraderie. That’s been something that we’re all really enjoying so much.
Anything else that you care to add?
This isn’t so much a Dream Theater thing, it’s more of a me thing that I’m really looking forward to. At the end of this tour, about a week later, I host a guitar camp. It’s called John Petrucci’s Guitar Universe.
[This year’s lineup includes] Tosin Abasi from Animals. Fredrik Akesson, who’s the guitar player in Opeth. Lari Basilio, she’s a Brazilian guitar player, kind plays more of a fusion style. Ola Englund, who’s a Swedish sort of YouTuber guy. Guthrie Govan, who is just one of the craziest and most amazing guitar players on the planet. Tim Henson and Scott LePage, they’re in a band called Polyphia, which is another band that would be under that prog flag that would be great on a Dreamsonic tour. Aaron Marshall is in a band called Intervals. My wife, Rena Petrucci, she’s in a band called Mainstreak, and she’s a guest artist. Plini, who’s from Australia, writes some incredible instrumental music. Jason Richardson, another shredder. Joscho Stephan, who’s a gypsy-jazz guy from Germany, and then Zakk Wylde, who of course, we all know. I think there’s only 10 slots left. So I don’t know when this [article] is going to come out, but if people are interested, they better act on it. (Laughs.)
When Madonna was forced to reschedule her 84-date Celebration Tour on Wednesday after she was stricken with a bacterial infection and hospitalized in the ICU, concern immediately turned to the pop superstar’s health (luckily, she’s expected to make a full recovery). But for industry watchers, the postponement also raises an interesting question: Just how much does it cost to reschedule a tour of that magnitude?
It’s impossible to come up with a solid number given all of the moving parts involved in a tour of this scale, particularly without having access to any insurance policies or contracts with venues and vendors. But postponing that large of a tour just over two weeks short of the July 15 opener at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada — and then rescheduling it — will nonetheless amount to a huge endeavor requiring hours of phone calls, disruptions to people’s lives and plenty of sunk costs for venues, show crew members, ticket buyers and Madonna herself.
Live Nation and Madonna’s touring team have already spent millions on equipment and infrastructure. While much of the show is custom-built and designed, there are plenty of production pieces — from speakers to staging — that are rented from major backline companies. The tour has also chartered buses and trucks and rented venues, which are expenditures that require deposits with varying costs depending on demand and availability.
Live Nation and the Madonna tour will have to pay some of these deposits, especially for those high-demand items that can’t be redirected toward other tours. In some cases, they will also be on the hook for venue deposits for canceled shows, although most venues will waive the cost to maintain a good relationship with Live Nation, which brings many arenas most of their touring content.
The largest group impacted by the postponement will be the approximately 1.2 million fans who purchased tickets for the tour, representing hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. Some fans booked airline tickets, hotel rooms and rental properties around the tour, and some of those purchases will be deemed non-refundable. Those fans will have to make new plans after the rescheduled Madonna dates are announced, likely sometime in the next few weeks. Those who can’t attend might be able to get a refund, depending on what Madonna’s team decides, or sell their tickets on either a fan-to-fan exchange for face value or on a ticket resale site like StubHub or Vivid Seats.
The largest human costs will be borne by a much smaller group: the men and women working as roadies, touring professionals and support staff for the tour. With just over two weeks to go before opening, most positions on the tour have been filled, and many have started work building sets, editing content and rehearsing. As independent contractors, rescheduling the tour means their pay will be interrupted too, potentially leaving hundreds of people unemployed when they had planned to be working. While many, depending on the state, will receive a small severance and qualify for limited unemployment benefits, the disruption caused by the postponement will almost certainly mean that many touring professionals will not generate the income they had budgeted for this year and will now have to spend the months they thought they had secure employment looking for new work.
Fortunately, because the concert business is currently so strong at the highest level, there are more work opportunities in touring now than ever before, and some crew members will be able to immediately find replacement gigs. Others, however, will have to wait months until the rescheduled Madonna tour launches.
For the touring operation itself, the costs of the postponement could easily add up to millions of dollars. But the Celebration Tour has been so successful — more than 600,000 tickets were sold the first day tickets went on sale — that it will still amount to a huge financial windfall for Live Nation and Madonna when the tour eventually hits the road. That doesn’t mean it’ll be easy for everyone getting there
Ticketmaster owner Live Nation’s push for legislative ticketing reform earlier this year has actually slowed down progress on those issues, sources tell Billboard, stalling a long-in-the-works bill that addresses nearly identical concerns about the ticketing business.
Last year, even before Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour presale fiasco inspired a flurry of ticketing reform bills, the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) had been working on a wide-reaching piece of legislation in cooperation with Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) to “combat predatory and deceptive ticketing practices,” according to sources close to the issue. The bill included bans on deceptive practices and speculative listings, enforcement of existing anti-bot laws and new tools for countering ticketing fraud. Its most substantive change took aim at the secondary ticketing industry, granting artists and tour promoters sweeping power to reduce ticket scalping by allowing artists to set legally binding rules on how and where their tickets are resold, according to a November 2022 memo reviewed by Billboard. Besides NIVA, Universal Music Group, Wasserman Music, Dice and See Tickets were all among the broad coalition of music companies supporting the effort under the coalition name Fix the Tix.
But, for months, the bill has languished — even as attention around ticketing has grown considerably following a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in January on competition within the ticketing industry. That’s because of increased lobbying by pro-scalper groups and a decision in February, by Ticketmaster owner Live Nation, to unveil the FAIR Ticketing Act, a five-point proposal with a list of legislative fixes — and the recommendations were very similar to the fixes NIVA had been quietly lobbying for.
With NIVA representing thousands of independent venues and Live Nation representing its huge corporate portfolio, the two entities often have opposing agendas, and some NIVA members theorized that Live Nation was attempting to sabotage their bill. Worried that supporting a similar proposal would look like politicians were rewarding Ticketmaster at a time when outrage at the company was growing, momentum around the NIVA bill waned. Klobuchar’s office, which had planned to announce a bi-partisan bill with Cornyn in the spring, delayed its announcement amid new concerns that the bill might strengthen Ticketmaster, sources close to both Live Nation and NIVA tell Billboard. They add that the FAIR Ticketing Act was neither a clone of the proposed NIVA bill nor a poison pill.
“Live Nation and Ticketmaster have been the target of the Senate since the two companies merged in 2010,” says one NIVA member speaking on the condition of anonymity. “There’s an appetite in D.C. to punish Ticketmaster, but the reality is that there’s no way to pass a law that would both punish Ticketmaster and bring about the types of reforms needed to clean up the ticketing business.”
Case in point: On April 28, Klobuchar’s office introduced legislation with Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) that would have banned ticketing companies like Ticketmaster from signing venue clients to long-term exclusive contracts. The proposal has faced opposition from some members of NIVA, who argued it would hurt small venues that relied on the payments from those contracts, and that fans would likely have to make up for the loss through higher ticket prices. A representative for Live Nation previously told Billboard the proposal wouldn’t “have a material impact on our business as we historically add clients in competitive marketplaces.”
As for similarities between the NIVA-backed bill and Live Nation’s proposal, “It’s not surprising that the two groups that spent the last six months thinking about legislative fixes [to] the same issue came up with similar solutions,” said one source close to Live Nation, noting that much of the friction between NIVA and Ticketmaster has subsided.
Ticketmaster officials appear to have gotten the message and have toned down the rhetoric around their political efforts. Many of the campaign efforts have been picked up by NIVA, which successfully lobbied for $15 billion in federal aid for venues negatively impacted by the coronavirus pandemic in 2021. Now, sources say, the Fix the Tix bill is expected to be proposed in the next couple of weeks.
Leading the charge at NIVA is the organization’s executive director, Stephen Parker. A longtime D.C. insider who worked with Sen. Tim Kaine when he was the governor of Virginia, Parker spent a decade at the bipartisan National Governors Association and has served on the board of the Country Music Association.
Parker confirmed to Billboard that neither Live Nation nor Ticketmaster has signed on as official supporters of the Fix the Tix coalition, while he and others are being extra cautious not to make their legislative package a referendum on Ticketmaster. Still, the Live Nation-owned company will play an outsized role in the Fix the Tix plan, as opponents are getting ready to paint the proposal as a major power shift to Ticketmaster and away from scalpers.
The Fix the Tix proposal would “make it illegal for resellers, professional ticket brokers, and ticket platforms to violate the artists’ and venues’ ticket terms and conditions, including restrictions that prohibit price gouging of fans through the resale of tickets above face value,” according to an early draft obtained by Billboard. That means artists, venues, or promoters could place ceilings on how much tickets are allowed to be marked up or restrict ticket resale until after all primary tickets have been sold. Since Ticketmaster and AEG are the only two companies on the market with technology that can track tickets after they’re sold to see if they are being resold and for how much, however, critics say this sort of law would create an even greater dependence on their services.
That’s far more power than Ticketmaster should have, says John Breyault, vp of public policy at the National Consumers League and a founding board member of the Fan Freedom Project, an advocacy group fighting restrictions on resale that receives funding from StubHub and Vivid Seats. “Ticketmaster does not want to eliminate resale; they want to control resale,” Breyault says. The current proposals by Ticketmaster and NIVA could bankrupt major secondary resale sites, especially if most tours decided to make their tickets non-transferable. Once Live Nation “got rid of its competitors,” Breyault says the company could convince the artist it works with to lighten up on ticket transferability and effectively “own the resale market.”
To a degree, Fix the Tix is a response to the dozens of pieces of pro-scalping legislation and lobbying that have been proposed at the state and federal levels over the past six months. This Fix the Tix bill would seek to overrule any state-level legislation that exists; there are currently over a dozen states with laws that outlaw restrictions on ticket transferability, meaning anyone can resell tickets at any price they want.Others, like Rep. Bill Pascrell’s (D-NJ) BOSS and SWIFT Act — which Breyault supports and the Fix the Tix coalition opposes — would permanently legalize scalping by making it illegal for ticketing companies to restrict ticket transferability.
Last year, the American Economic Liberties Project, which is funded by Pierre Omidyar — former chairman of eBay and owner of Ticketmaster rival StubHub — announced the “Break Up Ticketmaster,” campaign, aimed at pressuring the DOJ “to investigate and unwind the 2010 Live Nation-Ticketmaster merger,” according to the group’s website.
Opponents of scalping say the BOSS Act would make it impossible for artists to keep their tickets off secondary sites and would allow all scalping sites to sell any tickets they wanted without restriction. Proponents, however, believe that outcome is better for fans than allowing Live Nation and the artists it works with to make these decisions.
While the scalpers and the concert promoters are far apart on most issues, the rival bills do share consensus on a number of practices in ticketing that have long drawn the ire of fans. Those include speculative ticket listing, drip pricing and misleading marketing campaigns — all of which would be banned by both NIVA’s proposal and the BOSS and Swift Act.
Editor’s note: Billboard has updated this story to more accurately describe the work performed by the American Economic Liberties Project.