An in-depth investigation into large scale ticket touting in the UK by the BBC has seen claims come to light that now-convicted fraudsters received inside help when buying and selling large quantities of tickets for inflated prices.

Prolific touts Peter Hunter and David Smith were jailed in 2020 for fraudulently trading tickets between 2010 and 2017, while Maria Chenery-Woods (the so-called Ticket Queen), Paul Douglas, Mark Woods and Lynda Chenery were convicted of fraudulent trading offences in 2024. They all utilised resale sites StubHub, Viagogo and the now-defunct Ticketmaster-owned GetMeIn! and Seatwave, which were closed in 2018.

A new report published today (Thursday) by Music Australia has found that live music contributed A$4.83bn ($2.3bn/€2.7bn/$3.1bn) in revenue, and A$1.44bn in direct GVA in 2023-2024. Live music performances also brought in A$105m in export revenue.

The figures were published in The Bass Line: Charting the Economic Contribution of Australia’s Music Industry, which was commissioned by Music Australia and undertaken by McAtamney & Advisors.

RockForce, the live entertainment industry workforce and production solutions provider, announced the expansion of its operations with the opening of a new Nashville office.

The Nashville office will be led by Executive Vice President of Business Development Jeremy Young, a new Vice President of Operations, and will serve as home base for RockForce companies The Production Collective and Collective Payroll.

A late-night curfew in the downtown area implemented by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has forced businesses to cancel events, including shows at Walt Disney Concert Hall and Peacock Theater.

Bass issued a curfew June 10 covering one square mile of downtown L.A. after the mostly peaceful protests against recent U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, raids turned violent, with some businesses looted and damaged since the demonstrations began on June 6.

As Mayor Karen Bass implemented a curfew in the downtown area of Los Angeles, entertainment venues such as the Music Center and the Alamo Drafthouse theaters canceled evening programming Tuesday night and for at least the next day or two.

Bass said that a one-square-mile area would come under the curfew starting at 8 p.m. Tuesday night and could continue for “several nights.” The Alamo Drafthouse posted,” Heads up, we’re closed for the evening because of the curfew. Tickets for this evening’s remaining shows will be refunded automatically. (Note that it may take a couple of days to show up.).”

Jonathan Mayers, a pioneer of the modern music festival and co-founder of Superfly Entertainment and Bonnaroo, has died at the age of 51.

His death was announced by the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, which shared a tribute on social media Tuesday. A cause of death was not disclosed.

Live Nation will invest $1 billion to build 18 “new and revitalized live music venues” across the United States over the next 18 months, the company announced June 10.

According to a study cited by Live Nation, construction, engineering and development of the projects — which range from small clubs to large amphitheaters — will spur $2.9 billion in econonic impact with $1.4 billion in annual impact once the venues are online.

Glastonbury organisers opted to sell a few thousand less tickets for this year’s edition of the UK’s flagship festival, in order to avoid overcrowding.

The festival, which traditionally has a capacity of 210,000, will take place later this month in Somerset, with headline performances from The 1975, Neil Young and his band the Chrome Hearts, and Olivia Rodrigo.

Votes on bills that would put modest new restrictions on New York State ticket resellers have been delayed until at least next year. Instead, an extension of existing ticketing laws thru June 30, 2026 was introduced on Sunday.

The original New York Senate ticketing Bill S8221 and Assembly Bill A8659 were introduced by Democratic Representatives Carroll, Kelles, Rosenthal, and Gallagher. In the State Senate, it was introduced by Democratic Senator Skoufis.

The bills would have established refund rights and put strong restrictions on speculative tickets. Also included were some artist controls on resale and a cap on ticket fees in larger venues.

The International Festival Forum (IFF) has announced details of its 11th edition. The event will host 1000 agents and festival leaders, and will take place in London between 9-11 September 2025.

The event will feature agency pop-up offices, numerous speed meeting sessions, genre-specific mixers, and acts as a showcase for the global music festival industry.

Never ask Halsey to be just one thing at a time, whether it’s on record or in person. The singer’s current outing, dubbed the “For My Last Trick” Tour, is one of this year’s most impressive pop road shows — a must-see for veteran tour-watchers, even if you don’t think you care about Halsey (although you should), just for its high level of creative ambition and innovation. But ask any two fans what the overriding nature of the show is, and you might get two distinctly different answers.

The 2025 Event and Venue Marketing Conference (EVMC) hosted the 10th anniversary of the EVMC Awards at Atlanta’s iconic Fox Theatre, celebrating the accomplishments of leading venue and event marketing professionals.

This year’s EVMC Award winners include:

Most Creative Artist Welcome: Notes to Noah – Scotiabank Arena

Grassroots Campaign of the Year: AJR Love’s Ice Cream – Van Andel Arena

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has given the green light for Viagogo to reacquire certain StubHub trademarks and domain names outside of the UK and Europe from Digital Fuel Capital.

Viagogo was given the go-ahead in 2021 to complete its takeover of fellow ticket resale platform StubHub by the UK CMA after the latter agreed to sell its international business to the Digital venture capital group. Viagogo had initially agreed to purchase StubHub for around $4bn (£2.9m/€3.5bn) from eBay in early 2020.

Performances from Vampire Weekend, Olivia Rodrigo, Luke Combs, Modest Mouse, Mt. Joy and Tyler, The Creator are among others included in the schedule.

Formed in 2020 as the COVID pandemic threatened to decimate the live-entertainment business, the National Independent Talent Organization is a 501(c)(6) trade organization that represents hundreds of independent talent agencies and managers nationwide.

In a way similar to the National Independent Venue Assn., the organization sees people who were previously bitter competitors joining together for the common good — a goal that has continued after the pandemic lifted. After securing some $900 million in federal funding for agents and managers during COVID, it has expanded its purview to fighting excesses in the secondary market, issuing a report that shows resale tickets are two times more than face value on average; assisted in the banning of speculative tickets [the practice whereby tickets that don’t exist yet are put on sale] and deceptive ticket-selling practices in Maryland and Minnesota; filed a formal complaint with the FTC on World Ticket Conference and BOT Act Violators; all in the face of fierce lobbying from representatives on the secondary market.

Venue developer and operator Venu Holding Corporation has secured a strategic partnership with Aramark Sports + Entertainment to boost guest experience.

Venu has awarded Aramark the contracts for food and beverage concessions, artist and branded venue retail, and facilities management including custodial and grounds maintenance, cleaning and engineering services. The multi-venue agreement also includes an equity investment in Venu.

English progressive rock icons Yes have announced a new fall tour which will see them play their 1971 album Fragile in full.

Officially dubbed The Fragile Tour 2025, The Album Series, the newly-announced run of shows will launch on Oct. 1 and sees the band performing a total of 31 dates until Nov. 16. Per a press release, the tour setlist will include Fragile full along with a number of other “classic cuts.”

As Homestead, a new festival in Somerset, announces it can’t go ahead due to tough economic factors, AIF has again called for more government support for festivals, switching its main demand from a VAT cut on tickets to a new tax relief scheme for smaller events

New York legislation that would have placed some restrictions on resellers in the state has been delayed until next year, with an extension on existing ticketing laws put in place.

The National Independent Talent Organisation (NITO) previously called for the passing of Assembly Bill A8659 and Senate Bill S8221.

The National Independent Talent Organisation in the US has urged the passing of two ticketing-related bills in New York to protect consumers from exploitative ticketing practices.

Assembly Bill A8659 and Senate Bill 8221 would help to establish tighter restrictions on speculative ticketing. Additionally, the bill includes authority to establish resale price and fee caps,  which would help to put an end to extreme fees.

State legislation that would put resale restrictions on New York ticket resellers has been stalled until next year. In the meantime, an extension of existing ticketing laws has been introduced.
Bills that would place new restrictions on New York State ticket resellers have been postponed until next year at the earliest. In the interim, an extension of existing ticketing laws through the end of June 2026 were introduced over the weekend.

Through a rich and diverse line-up, including art installations, performances, debates, and workshops, the programme shines a light on some of the most important topics of our time.

Tickets for Travis Scott’s debut India show in New Delhi in October sold out in a few minutes, prompting promoter BookMyShow to add another date. Now the organiser has shared a few details of where the demand came from. Fans from more than 500 cities bought tickets, with Gen-Z – specifically those under 25 – comprising two-thirds of the attendees looking to have a “FE!N” time.

XP, the ticket resale marketplace founded by former Grubhub exec Michael Saunders, has raised $6.2 million in funding led by Blockchange, with participation from L1D, Reflexive, and others.

Why it matters:

As per its press release, XP currently offers more than 50 million tickets to major concerts, sporting events and shows nationwide.

XP claims the funding will accelerate its "mission to build the most fulfilling ticketing experience for fans, which starts with transparent, fair-market pricing, and a platform centered around fan identity."

It intends to harness AI and blockchain technology to invest in identity-driven features that will enhance personalization and create smarter, more trustworthy interactions.