California’s 10% ticket resale worth cap dies in Senate committee, as StubHub’s state lobbying spend hits $3.4M this 12 months

California‘s bid to cap dwell occasion ticket resale costs at 10% above face worth is lifeless for this legislative session.

The California Senate Appropriations Committee held AB 1720 on its suspense file on Thursday (August 13), someday earlier than the deadline for the state’s fiscal committees to report payments to the ground.

A companion ticketing measure, AB 1349, was launched from suspense on the identical listening to and may now proceed to a Senate vote.

AB 1720, the California Followers First Act, was launched in February by San Francisco Assemblymember Matt Haney, as reported by MBW.

It will have restricted the resale worth of live performance and dwell occasion tickets to 10% above face worth, with the ceiling overlaying charges, and would have capped the charges charged by resale marketplaces.

The invoice was narrowed by modification in Might, limiting its attain to impartial venues with capacities of 3,000 or fewer, plus sure nonprofit venues.

An impartial venue was outlined within the Haney invoice as an area that derives a majority of its income from ticket occasions, just isn’t majority owned by a publicly traded firm and doesn’t function venues in additional than 10 states.

Skilled sports activities and a spread of different athletic occasions had been exempt from AB 1720.

The California Division of Justice put the price of imposing the measure at round USD $1.6 million in fiscal 12 months 2026–27, $1 million the 12 months after, $812,000 in 2028–29 and about $582,000 a 12 months thereafter.

The state’s Division of Finance opposed the invoice at an Appropriations listening to on August 3, citing these enforcement prices and the potential burden on California courts.

Haney stated in an announcement that he’s “going to maintain working with the coalition of followers, artists, and venues who acknowledge the urgency of this concern and proceed pushing for options that put tickets again within the fingers of the folks they had been supposed for.”

“This isn’t a fringe thought, and it isn’t partisan,” stated Haney.

“From Child Rock to Noah Kahan, artists throughout genres have known as for options to runaway ticket resale practices. Impartial venues have spoken out. Followers have demanded change.

“AB 1720 would have helped take away the incentives that gasoline predatory ticket resale whereas nonetheless permitting somebody who can’t attend a present to resell their ticket and get well their prices.”

Matt Haney, California State Meeting

“A number of states and international locations have already adopted resale caps as a result of they acknowledge the urgency of this concern. AB 1720 would have helped take away the incentives that gasoline predatory ticket resale whereas nonetheless permitting somebody who can’t attend a present to resell their ticket and get well their prices.”

AB 1720 dies with the two-year session and can’t carry over, so Haney would wish to introduce a brand new invoice when the Legislature reconvenes in December.

“It is a disappointing consequence,” stated Ron Gubitz, Govt Director of the Music Artists Coalition, which campaigned for the invoice. “Each fan, at each present, must be protected. Interval.”

“We’re grateful for the work Asm. Haney has put into this struggle,” Gubitz added. “He’s been a fierce advocate for followers, artists, and venues alike.”

“Each fan, at each present, must be protected. Interval.”

Ron Gubitz, Music Artists Coalition

AB 1720 was additionally backed by the Nationwide Impartial Venue Affiliation (NIVA), the Nationwide Impartial Expertise Group and the Way forward for Music Coalition, alongside Reside Nation Leisure.

NIVA stated in March that it was “proud to assist architect” each AB 1720 and AB 1349.

StubHub reported near $2.6 million in California lobbying bills between April and June, in line with state filings reviewed by The Hollywood Reporter.

That took the corporate’s California lobbying spend to $3.4 million for the calendar 12 months and made the April-to-June quarter its heaviest on report within the state, THR reported.

Citing the Capitol Morning Report, THR stated the outlay made StubHub the second-largest lobbying spender in California for the quarter, behind Pacific Fuel & Electrical and forward of Chevron, Verizon, AT&T and OpenAI.

Greater than $1 million of that quarterly outlay went to the Ticket Coverage Discussion board, a coalition whose members embody StubHub, SeatGeek, Vivid Seats and TickPick.

SeatGeek reported about $40,000 in California lobbying this 12 months and Vivid Seats reported $500, whereas Reside Nation reported about $91,000.

Requested concerning the laws earlier than the listening to, StubHub stated its platform “exists to present followers entry to dwell occasions on their very own phrases by means of a safe, verified market — together with followers who couldn’t get tickets in the course of the authentic on-sale, or who need the choice of grabbing a terrific deal as costs shift nearer to the occasion.”

“We imagine that extra alternative, flexibility, and entry put followers first and assist everybody get into the occasions they love,” StubHub stated.

“California is among the largest live performance markets within the nation. If California goes when it comes to client protections round ticketing, we expect the remainder of the nation will quickly observe.”

Stephen Parker, Nationwide Impartial Venue Affiliation

NIVA Govt Director Stephen Parker characterised StubHub‘s spending as an act of “desperation.”

“California is among the largest live performance markets within the nation. If California goes when it comes to client protections round ticketing, we expect the remainder of the nation will quickly observe,” Parker stated.

Ticket Coverage Discussion board Govt Director Brian Berry argued that rising costs originate on the first aspect and that the invoice would have entrenched Ticketmaster by regulating resale alone.

“Capping solely resale does nothing to handle this supply of rising ticket costs. AB 1720 would let the Reside Nation-Ticketmaster monopoly preserve elevating prices unchecked whereas jeopardizing the advantages followers stand to realize as cures are determined within the ongoing Reside Nation-Ticketmaster antitrust case,” stated Berry.

“AB 1720 would let the Reside Nation-Ticketmaster monopoly preserve elevating prices unchecked whereas jeopardizing the advantages followers stand to realize as cures are determined within the ongoing Reside Nation-Ticketmaster antitrust case.”

Brian Berry, Ticket Coverage Discussion board

Robert Herrell, Govt Director of the Shopper Federation of California, instructed ABC7 that “this invoice by Assemblymember Haney solely harms the competitors to the monopoly.”

“That’s going to finish badly, and historical past exhibits us repeatedly and once more that the losers are customers who wish to see exhibits and don’t wish to must pay an arm and a leg to go see a present,” stated Herrell.

Geoff Vetter, a spokesperson for the Coalition for Ticket Equity, stated: “We’ve seen again and again how efforts to limit resale backfire. AB 1720 does nothing to handle what tickets price once they first go on sale.

“As an alternative, it restricts the aggressive resale market and can additional consolidate energy with Ticketmaster and Reside Nation.”

“At a time when Ticketmaster and Reside Nation are already dealing with an ongoing federal antitrust case over their market energy, California needs to be encouraging extra competitors, not much less.”

Geoff Vetter, Coalition for Ticket Equity

“At a time when Ticketmaster and Reside Nation are already dealing with an ongoing federal antitrust case over their market energy, California needs to be encouraging extra competitors, not much less,” Vetter added.

Resale worth caps have handed elsewhere within the US over the previous 12 months or so, with Maine, Vermont, and Washington, D.C. all adopting limits.

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey moved in July to place a 110% ceiling into her state’s supplemental spending invoice.

A federal jury in Manhattan present in April that Reside Nation and Ticketmaster had illegally monopolized US ticketing, and a coalition of states is urgent for a breakup of the corporate.

Home Democrats opened a probe in July into StubHub CEO Eric Baker over his stake in a fund that backs brokers reselling tickets on his personal platform.

AB 1349, authored by Los Angeles Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, targets speculative ticket gross sales, bot and queue circumvention, and misleading ticketing web sites.

It cleared all three Senate coverage committees unanimously, and should now clear the Senate flooring and return to the Meeting for concurrence within the Senate’s amendments earlier than the August 31 deadline for each homes to move payments.Music Enterprise Worldwide