A more local-sounding AI DJ isn’t part of Spotify’s updates, but you now actively tell the virtual American DJ what to play and the style you want to listen to. The lyric “hey DJ keep playing that song all night” isn’t something that typically happens in real life — the DJ isn’t always in your power — but streaming services can certainly let you control that aplenty. You don’t need a DJ to play your favourite song; you just cue it up whether it’s on repeat or just every so often.

Last week we wrote about a new rule in the US requiring the total price to be shown for tickets being sold online. Now regulator the Federal Trade Commission has issued StubHub with a public warning to abide by it.

“It appears to have misrepresented the total price of some of the tickets displayed for sale on its website, in violation of the agency’s new Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees,” explained the FTC in its announcement.

In his latest effort to distinguish himself as an insult-slinging music critic, President Donald Trump laid into Bruce Springsteen in an early-morning social media post, calling the rock legend “highly overrated,” “not a talented guy,” “a pushy, obnoxious jerk” and a “dried out ‘prune’ of a rocker,” among other epithets.

This came right on the heels of Trump similarly taking an early a.m. shot at Taylor Swift. These two broadsides against leading entertainers led the president of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) to denounce the president’s attacks, saying the union “will not remain silent as two of our members — Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift — are singled out and personally attacked by the President of the United States.”

New analysis from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) has suggested that a possible price cap on resale tickets for live events in the UK could cost the economy up to £183m (€217m/$243m), should 25% of those who currently utilise resale platforms choose to not attend nor resell.

The report from independent consultancy Cebr highlights that a cap on ticket resale prices could reduce the number of tickets resold through regulated platforms, with ticket-holders pushed towards unregulated resale channels such as social media to get their money back.

NFT ticketing is an important step toward a more secure, more open, and more interactive event experience. It won't immediately replace old-school ticketing systems, naturally, but it is a solid option that addresses several problems at once.

Outback Presents, one of the leading indie North American promoters, promoted Andrew Farwell to president, the company announced today.

Farwell previously served as vice president and worked with founder and co-CEO Mike Smardak in music, comedy and other spoken-word events, having had a hand in the thousands of shows in theaters and arenas across the U.S. and Canada.

Call us Captain Obvious if you like, but: quite a lot of people want to see Bad Bunny in concert. Now Live Nation has put some figures on that, announcing that the Puerto Rican superstar has sold more than 2.6m tickets for his ‘Debí Tirar Más Fotos World Tour’ so far.

This is for 54 stadium gigs in 18 countries being visited by the tour after it kicks off in November, with tickets yet to go on sale for two more dates in the Dominican Republic and Japan.

The Texas-based rock band Lord Buffalo has cancelled its European tour after its drummer, Yamal Said, was detained by US Customs and Border Protection on Monday.

Said was removed from a plane en route to the band’s summer tour and has had no contact with his bandmates for two days, according to a message posted to the band’s Instagram account. Said is a Mexican citizen but a legal permanent resident of the United States, holder of a green card and resident of Austin since the 1980s, according to the Austin Chronicle.

Manchester, UK’s Co-op Live arena had a sticky launch in 2024, but once its technical gremlins were sorted out the concerts came thick and fast.

A public inquiry into the live concert and entertainment industry has been launched by the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to identify “unfair” and “anticompetitive” practices.

The move follows President Donald Trump signing an Executive Order in March which directed the FTC to ensure competition laws are appropriately enforced, that there is price transparency throughout the ticket buying process, and that the FTC “rigorously” enforced the Better Online Ticket Sales Act (BOTS Act).

Adelaide-headquartered MyVenue has received major financial backing from family office and growth equity firm, Greater Sum Ventures (GSV).

MyVenue provides point-of-sale (POS) technology for sports and entertainment venues that sell food, beverages, memorabilia and merchandise. The additional capital and specialised resources from GSV will be used to accelerate global growth, and research and development initiatives. The financial injection will also fuel its in-house software development and leadership teams.

Vivid Seats has witnessed quite the dip during the first quarter of 2025, with a 14% drop in revenue to $164m (£123m/€145m).

The online ticketing marketplace also reported a net loss of $9.8m, down 191% from a net income of $10.7m during the first quarter in 2024.

Reliant Talent Agency has expanded its talent division with four new agents. Veteran talent agent Scott Simpson joins Reliant as Head of Talent, leading the agency’s efforts in Talent, Comedy, Unscripted Television and beyond. Joining him in the division is agent Jonathan Perry, who will lead West Coast Talent alongside agent Katie Edwards. Melanie Moreau will lead the Unscripted Department.

Bad Bunny has sold more than 2.6 million tickets for his upcoming world tour, which has also been expanded to 54 dates. The Puerto Rican rapper first announced his ‘Debí Tirar Más Fotos’ (I Should Have Taken More Photos) World Tour earlier this month. The tour is being promoted by Live Nation in partnership with Rimas Nation, and tickets went on sale on May 9.

Brockwell Live, the promoters behind London’s Field Day, Wide Awake and Cross The Tracks festivals, has announced that all of its festival will run as planned at Brockwell Park. The news comes after a local campaign group won a High Court legal dispute that found Brockwell Live did not possess the correct planning permission for its summer events.

The U.S. Justice Department has reportedly launched a criminal antitrust probe of major U.S. concert companies including Live Nation and AEG over the cancellation of concerts in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Bloomberg, who first broke the story, the probe is examining whether the live events companies illegally colluded to establish refund policies and deals with artists for concerts that were impacted by public gathering restrictions during the pandemic.

Creative Artists Agency announced the promotions of Sloane Fuller, Mary Harrington, Calhoun Rawlings, and Sam Schaumberg to Agent/Executive in the Global Touring department.

Based in Los Angeles, Fuller has been promoted to Agent. She began her working for CAA in 2021 in the Global Touring department in Nashville before relocating to the Los Angeles office in 2022. She served as an assistant to Brian Manning, Joe Mott, and Jenna Adler, before her promotion to Booking Professional in 2024. She earned her degree in corporate communications from Southern Methodist University with minors in Arabic, public policy, Africa/Middle East studies, and songwriting.

The Department of Justice is investigating concert promoters Live Nation and AEG in a criminal probe regarding their responses to refunds for pandemic-era concert cancellations, Live Nation confirmed Thursday in a statement, denying any wrongdoing.

Bloomberg first broke the news of the investigation, reporting that it is linked to an initiative Live Nation, AEG and the major Hollywood booking agencies had announced during the early days of the pandemic in 2020. As Bloomberg reported, the DOJ started investigating during the Biden era, but the efforts increased during the Trump administration. It’s unclear if the investigation will result in any formal charges filed.

With Ticketmaster offering all-in pricing on its website and mobile apps, both secondary ticketing marketplaces SeatGeek and StubHub have done the same.
The move among ticketing platforms was driven by new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations and mounting consumer frustration at ticket prices. Research has revealed that up to 50% of abandoned purchases from consumers are the result of hidden fees only disclosed at checkout. Ticketmaster’s adoption of all-in pricing happened earlier this week—now all fees except local taxes are included in the advertised price.

Live Nation is turning the music up this summer. The entertainment ticketing company just dropped a “$30 Ticket to Summer” deal, unlocking access to more than a thousand concerts across the U.S. and Canada. Participating concerts span multiple genres, from hip-hop and country to metal and pop.

Starting May 21, fans can snag $30 tickets to more than 1,000 concerts, including artists like Avril Lavigne, The Offspring, Nelly, Halsey, Rod Stewart, Kesha, and even the Kidz Bop Kids. Live Nation also says more shows will be added throughout the summer.

Eventbrite has seen its net revenue drop 14% year-over-year and has also posted a net loss of $6.6m (£5m/€5.9m) for the first quarter of 2025.

Net revenue fell to $73.8m from $86.23m for the first quarter, while the net loss of $6.6m marked an increase on the net loss of $4.5m in the same period the year prior.

Bad Bunny has announced a new 23-date world tour following his Puerto Rico residency in the summer.

Kicking off on November 21 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, the tour will travel through Costa Rica, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Australia, Japan, Spain, Portugal, Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, France, Sweden, Poland and Italy before concluding in Belgium on July 22, 2026.

Legendary singer Andrea Bocelli has signed a landmark global exclusive agreement for the creation and management of his live performances for the next five years with AEG Presents, in collaboration with his management team and WME. The agreement, which is described as “the most significant ever for a classical artist,” takes effect January 1, 2026, spans all five continents and covers all ticketed live events.