Bipartisan ticketing bill wins industry support but alienates resellers

From: POLITICO Influence - Friday Dec 08,2023 11:27 pm

Dec 08, 2023

Presented by the Merchants Payments Coalition

With Daniel Lippman

NEW TICKETING BILL WINS INDUSTRY SUPPORT BUT ALIENATES RESELLERS: A bipartisan coalition of senators rolled out a long-awaited proposal to overhaul ticketing marketplaces in the wake of last year's Taylor Swift presale debacle, but while the bill has the backing of a number of industry players — including Ticketmaster parent company Live Nation — ticket resellers on the other side of the policy fight blasted the bill.

— The Fans First Act from Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) would require all ticket sellers and resellers to disclose the all-in price of any ticket along with a breakdown of that cost; the terms and conditions of purchasing the ticket; and whether or not the ticket is being sold by the original seller.

— It would ban the sale of speculative ticket sales, or sales of tickets not actually in the possession of the seller, and require consumer protection measures like providing proof of purchase and full refunds for canceled events.

— The bill also seeks to crack down on ticket buying bots and require information sharing between the FBI and ticket companies about violations. And it would impose civil penalties on ticket resellers engaging in illegal ticket sale practices, and create a website to report abuse, which would be enforced by the FTC and state law enforcement.

— Thus far, the legislative momentum for changes to ticketing marketplaces has centered around the Transparency in Charges for Key Events Ticketing — or TICKET — Act, which would require upfront disclosure of the so-called all-in price of tickets including any fees. The Senate Commerce Committee approved its version of the bill over the summer, and the House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously approved a different version of the bill on Wednesday that includes a ban on speculative ticket sales and other consumer protections.

— But as far as ticketing reforms go, the TICKET Act is low-hanging fruit, and primary and secondary ticket marketplaces alike have openly endorsed all-in price requirements.

— A bill from Klobuchar and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) introduced this spring aims to inject more competition into the primary ticket marketplace, while the newly renamed BOSS and SWIFT Act from New Jersey Democratic Reps. Bill Pascrell and Frank Pallone would mandate a slew of new disclosures throughout the ticket buying landscape and ban restrictions on reselling tickets. Both of those bills have attracted only Democratic support.

— Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino applauded the newest bill as “progress against predatory ticket resale practices” and said the company would continue to work with lawmakers “to advocate for even stronger reforms and enforcement.”

— “The Fans First Act will chip away at the fan entrapment that has become an everyday part of trying to go to our favorite shows,” said Fix the Tix, an industry coalition whose members include the National Independent Venue Association, National Independent Talent Organization, the Recording Academy, the Recording Industry Association of America, the American Association of Independent Music and more. The coalition added that the “entire music industry stands behind” the bill’s sponsors, while Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. urged Congress to move the bill swiftly.

— But a coalition of ticket brokers and resellers protested that the bill wouldn't actually address the issues that prompted last year's uproar, imposing “heavy regulations on ticket resale while largely leaving primary ticket agencies, like Ticketmaster, to operate business as usual.”

— "We all saw firsthand the impact on consumers when tickets went on sale for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour a year ago, and this legislation would do little to combat the issues on the primary seller side that so many consumers are angered by,” Jason Berger, the head of the ticket resale site Event VIP and executive director of the Coalition for Ticket Fairness, said in statement.

— Berger, whose coalition has gotten support previously from StubHub, SeatGeek, Vivid Seats, Automatiq, Logitix and the National Association of Ticket Brokers, urged supporters to ask their congressional representatives to support the TICKET Act instead.

— Another consumer coalition linked to ticket resellers, the Ticket Buyer Bill of Rights, offered a more tepid reaction, saying that the bill “contains many important consumer protections” and that “we look forward to working with the sponsors to make sure fans remain at the center of the legislative process.”

TGIF and welcome to PI. Send K Street tips: coprysko@politico.com. And be sure to follow me on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.

A message from the Merchants Payments Coalition:

Big banks and credit card companies are gouging American consumers by charging them the highest swipe fees in the industrialized world – seven times what Europeans are paying and twice as much as in Canada. Wall Street’s swipe fees cost American consumers and small businesses $160 billion each year, and these hidden fees have increased by more than 50% since 2020. The Credit Card Competition Act would help bring swipe fees under control. Learn more: https://merchantspaymentscoalition.com/

REMEMBER THE SHELL COMPANY BAN: “Three years ago, when Congress passed an anti-corruption law intended to help combat money laundering through shell companies, it drew bipartisan support,” The New York Times’ Kate Kelly writes.

— “Now, just weeks before a central aspect of the Corporate Transparency Act is to take effect, it is under assault by interest groups and ideological foes who say it will not work as intended and will put too great a burden on tens of millions of small businesses.”

— “Once a bill is made law, its implementation is frequently turned over to a government agency. That agency can then spend years determining the details of how to apply the legislation, providing an opening for more lobbying, litigation and other actions that can reshape the law in meaningful ways.”

— “In the case of the Corporate Transparency Act, the Treasury Department is in charge of implementation. The department is under pressure to revise its approach from small business and financial trade groups, who object to the costs and bureaucratic complexities they say it would impose.”

— While the law “exempts most big businesses, where ownership is already reasonably well documented,” it “places a number of new reporting requirements on many small and newly formed firms,” who are now fighting back against those regulations.

— “One small business group is suing Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen over her agency’s interpretation of the law, calling it unconstitutional. Senior Republicans in the House and the Senate have proposed delays.”

DEM FUNDRAISER’S FIRM SETTLES SUIT OVER PPP LOAN: “One of New Jersey’s largest and most politically connected public relations and lobbying firms has entered into a settlement agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office after a whistleblower claimed the company received $2 million in federal COVID-19 loans that it wasn’t entitled to get,” per NJ.com’s Matthew Enuco.

— “MWW, which rebranded in 2021 as MikeWorldWide, agreed to pay back almost $2.3 million to the federal government, which includes interest and a $229,000 payment to the whistleblower, Aidan Forsyth, under the False Claims Act that allows individual parties to file suits on behalf of the U.S. Government and share in the recovery.”

— “Forsyth is described as an ‘entrepreneur from New York,’ in a statement from his attorney, Eric Jaso. The lawyer confirmed Forsyth has never worked for MWW.

— “MWW Group, LLC has voluntarily reimbursed the Small Business Administration an amount equivalent to its second PPP loan after it was informed it may not have been eligible, due to a change in the law in 2021,” the company said in a statement.

— The firm maintained that a former high-ranking employee who filed for the loan was unaware that the firm’s being registered under FARA made it ineligible for the loan but argued that it hadn’t done any FARA work during the period in question.

— The firm, which is run by Democratic fundraiser Michael Kempner, represented Israel’s Ministry of Tourism in 2020 and 2022 but it is unclear if the ministry was still a client of the firm when it applied for the PPP loan in 2021.

A SOFT LANDING FOR KOCH DISSENTERS: “A top New Hampshire political operative who worked for Americans for Prosperity's political arm and was upset with the group's endorsement of Nikki Haley is joining a super PAC supporting Ron DeSantis,” NBC’s Katherine Doyle reports.

— “Chris Maidment is the latest staffer with AFP — a branch of the powerful Koch network — to leave and join the DeSantis effort after it decided to back Haley, the former governor of South Carolina, last week. He will be Never Back Down's New Hampshire political director.”

— “AFP's decision to endorse Haley confounded many longtime Koch-world operatives, who view her not only as someone with little chance to win the Republican presidential nomination but also as someone who is out of step with many of their beliefs — particularly because of her interventionist foreign policy instincts.”

— “Maidment, who had been a director of grassroots operations in New Hampshire for AFP, spoke out on X after the endorsement that he opposed the group's decision and would not be helping it elect her,” telling the outlet he was fired after doing so. “In Iowa, Never Back Down recently hired two grassroots directors who left AFP because of the Haley endorsement, as was first reported by Semafor.”

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SPOTTED last night at Love, Makoto for a holiday reception celebrating AANHPI staffers and lobbyists hosted by H Street Group and the Asian American Pacific Islander Leadership Association, per a tipster: Jocelyn Hong of Jocelyn Hong & Associates, Sonali Desai of the House Democratic Caucus, Lauri Ng of Mindset, Alex Huang of Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman’s (D-N.J.) office, Miya Patel of Fulcrum Public Affairs, Sohil Khurana of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office, Saat Alety of Federal Hall Policy Advisors, Minh Ta of Carlyle Group, Jed Bhuta of Tower 19 and Irene Bueno of NVG.

— And dining last night at Cafe Milano, per a tipster: Spike Mendelsohn, Chip Dent, Joe Maloney of the American Gaming Association, Bennett Richardson of Google, John McCarthy of the White House, Jon Nabavi of the National Football League, Andrew Kovalcin of Advanced Advocacy, Matt Haller of the International Franchise Association, Ben Jenkins of LSG and Chris Gindlesperger of the National Confectioners Association.

A message from the Merchants Payments Coalition:

Jobs Report

— Garrett Heise is now PAC manager for Aflac.

— Alyssa Ring is joining Tremont Strategies Group as director of federal government affairs. She most recently was at MassDOT.

— Jeff Vockrodt will be president and CEO of the Fair Labor Association. He is a Climate Jobs NY and Labor Department alum.

— The Trust for the National Mall is elevating or adding Laura Gleason as vice president of philanthropy, Jeremy Goldstein as vice president of programs and Stephen Peeler as senior director of philanthropy.

JOIN WOMEN RULE ON 12/12: For centuries, women were left out of the rooms that shaped policy, built companies and led countries. Now, society needs the creativity and entrepreneurship of women more than ever. How can we make sure that women are given the space and opportunity to shape the world’s future for the better? Join POLITICO's Women Rule on Dec. 12 for Leading with Purpose: How Women Are Reinventing the World to explore this and more. REGISTER HERE.

New Joint Fundraisers

Alsobrooks Victory Fund (Alsobrooks For Senate, AlsoPAC)

New PACs

Alignment Health Political Action Committee (AHPAC) (PAC)

AlsoPAC (Leadership PAC: Angela Alsobrooks)

NEW Blue Wisco 8th Nominee Fund (PAC)

Ohio Valley Leadership PAC (Leadership PAC: Michael Rulli)

New Lobbying REGISTRATIONS

4Th St Communications: National Association Of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers

Aquia Group, LLC: National Association Of Federal Equity Receivers (Nafer)

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Ivanhoe Mines Ltd.

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP: Lake Charles Methanol Ii, LLC

Dunham Law & Policy Pllc: Novozymes

Dunham Law & Policy Pllc: Purac Biochem B.V.

Gilliland & Mckinney International Counsellors (D/B/A Gmi Counsel): Consulting & Pr, D.O.O.

Gilliland & Mckinney International Counsellors (D/B/A Gmi Counsel): Net Publishing, S.R.O.

Invariant LLC: Saronic Technologies

The Raben Group: Feeding America

Venture Government Strategies, LLC (Fka Hobart Hallaway & Quayle Ventures, LLC): Innovate Alabama

New Lobbying Terminations

Pale Blue, LLC: Demand Progress Action, Inc.

A message from the Merchants Payments Coalition:

Congress: Stop Wall Street from gouging American consumers and small businesses and pass the Credit Card Competition Act. America was built on competition. But because Visa and Mastercard dominate more than 80% of the credit card market and set the Wall Street megabanks’ prices, they have the power to inflate credit card fees at any time. And they’ve certainly taken advantage, with swipe fees increasing by more than 50% since 2020. Credit card swipe fees now cost American consumers and small businesses $160 billion each year at a rate that is seven times as much as Europe and double what consumers pay in Canada.

By allowing competition and promoting innovation, the Credit Card Competition Act would reduce the cost of fees now averaging over $1,000 a year for each U.S. household. Make Wall Street compete and pass the Credit Card Competition Act.