Earlier this month, Adrian Holovaty, founder of music-teaching platform Soundslice, solved a mystery that had been plaguing him for weeks. Weird images of what were clearly ChatGPT sessions kept being uploaded to the site.

Once he solved it, he realized that ChatGPT had become one of his company’s greatest hype men — but it was also lying to people about what his app could do.

The world of VIP has become more weird and wonderful than ever, offering increasingly unique (and exclusive) experiences. Here are the 7 best.

FlyteVu, a Nashville-based agency, has been acquired by Driftwood Music Group. The company is expanding its offerings, with the addition of corporate bookings and music licensing.

Co-founded by former CAA executive Laura Hutfless and former Warner Music Group executive Jeremy Holley, FlyteVu is expected to grow its team by thirty-percent by the end of the year, and staffing changes have already begun. Hutfless remains CEO and Holley, Co-Founder, is exiting the organization. Linda Knight has been tapped as Chief Creative Officer with Sina Seger promoted to Chief Operations Officer, Miriam Singer to Chief of Staff and Adeniz Villar as Senior Director of Talent.

Two independent concert promoters—Boston-based MassConcerts and Buffalo’s Funtime Presents—have announced a new booking partnership with the legendary Rochester venue, Water Street Music Hall.

A fixture of the Rochester live music scene for decades, Water Street made its debut as a concert venue in 1976 as the Country Warehouse, hosting performances from artists such as Phish and 10,000 Maniacs, as well as a wide range of local and national acts.

The Justice Department indicted Oak View Group CEO Tim Leiweke, a longtime executive in live sports and entertainment who once ran AEG, in an alleged scheme to rig the bidding process at a public arena in Texas.

Leiweke was charged with a violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act. It carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

Live Nation is addressing concerns about the company’s practices and industry more broadly with a new packet of material meant for President Donald Trump’s administration and other government agencies, principally the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

The submission, reviewed by Variety, is intended to address issues across the secondary ticket market and outlines suggested reforms to create fairness for fans and artists. Live Nation, the parent company of Ticketmaster, suggests that there should be 20 percent caps placed on ticket resale prices; that artists be given greater control over secondary ticket sales; and that the government should do more to combat bad actors, including going after deceptive websites and more effective enforcement of the 2016 BOTS Act.

Streaming platform ROKK implements a measure to subject all flagged tracks to a human review process to eliminate AI-generated music.

ROKK, the streaming platform dedicated to rock and metal, announced a new measure to subject potentially AI-generated music to a human review process. Starting today, users can report music per track which they believe to be AI generated. Once flagged, the content is reviewed by a real human at ROKK to determine its fate on the platform.

BANG FACE is one of the festival industry’s greatest, but most unlikely success stories.

The yearly event welcomes roughly 5000 ravers who are given a simple mission – have fun, and don’t take yourself too seriously. Pool parties, inflatables and thousands of gallons of UV paint are all par for the course. So, too, are electronic beats played at great speed to crowds of ravers at 7am in the morning. It might not be for everyone, but it’s not designed to be.

Essence Festival organizers have come to Lauryn Hill‘s defense after the singer appeared late — starting roughly around 2:30 a.m. — to perform for a nearly empty stadium on July 5. The festival assumed responsibility for the late start, which, according to a report from Nola, was experiencing delays throughout the entirety of Friday.

The festival issued a statement on their social media that praised Hill as a “legend,” and explicitly stated the delay was not her fault. Hill had been added to the lineup just a few days before the festival started on Friday. The first concert date of the four-day event featured late starts from GloRilla, the Isley Brothers, Babyface and Maxwell, among others.

Manchester’s Radar Festival is seeing a growing wave of artist withdrawals in the wake of Bob Vylan’s controversial Glastonbury performance and subsequent removal from the Manchester event’s lineup.

The latest act to announce their exit is Dublin metalcore band Hero In Error, who announced on Instagram that they would no longer perform at the independent event, set to run through July 6 at Manchester’s O2 Victoria Warehouse. “We will not be performing at Radar Festival this weekend,” they began in a statement.

India may be the most talked about emerging live entertainment market in the world right now, driven by artists like Ed Sheeran and Coldplay, who’ve put in the time and effort to go deep into territories, and string together fully-fledged Indian tour legs.

What cannot be forgotten, is that a minority of the country’s population is responsible for the vast majority of its consumption. There’s a huge emerging middle class, about 400 million Indians, whose average monthly household income is increasing, and with it their consumption.

The National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) in the US has called for the break up of Live Nation, proposing the business be split up into four companies across ticketing, promotion, advertising and sponsorship, and artist management.

NIVA submitted its formal comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) in response to their joint request for public input on unfair practices in the live entertainment marketplace.

Concert promoter and music executive Chuck Morris will be inducted into the IEBA Hall of Fame during the 2025 Honors & Awards Ceremony set for Oct. 7 at the Grand Hyatt Nashville.

A pioneering force in the Colorado music scene and beyond, Morris is Chairman Emeritus and President & CEO of AEG Presents Rocky Mountains. His contributions to the live entertainment industry span more than five decades and include a legacy of artist development, venue innovation, and industry mentorship. In the mid-1970s, Morris made his mark with the famed Denver nightclub Ebbets Field. His keen ear and curatorial spirit helped launch countless careers, and his passion for artists and fans alike continues to define his work.

Healing Appalachia, the nonprofit festival created by Tyler Childers and his manager to raise money to fight opioid addiction, has unveiled this year’s lineup. The event is slated for Sept. 18- 20 in Kentucky.

Thursday kicks off the weekend with Andy Frasco & The U.N. and Jeremy Short.

Friday will be headlined by Chris Stapleton, Molly Tuttle, The Infamous Stringdusters and Jesse Welles, and will feature Lukas Nelson, Sunny War, Desert Hollow, Corduroy Brown and The Montvales, Jeremy Pinnell and Moose Miller.

Oak View Group CEO Tim Leiweke is stepping down as CEO of the company he co-founded with Irving Azoff after his indictment on a conspiracy charge for allegedly rigging a bid to build and manage Austin’s Moody Center Arena.

Leiweke, 68, reportedly conspired with another bidder to have that company drop out in exchange for subcontracts at the $388 million arena. CNBC reports that the second company was New York-based Legends Hospitality, and that Leiweke reneged on the subcontracts agreement after that company bowed out of the bidding.

R&B singer Usher has canceled the entire Australian leg of his Past Present Future Tour, which would have marked his first visit to the region in nearly a decade.

Usher was scheduled to perform a total of 12 shows—six at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena and six at Sydney’s SuperDome—in November and December. As of now, all dates have been officially canceled. No reason for the cancellation was provided. The tour promoter issued a statement, shared by Ticketek, which said that the shows would “no longer be proceeding.”

What do do – if anything – about Live Nation and Ticketmaster? That’s a big question this year in the US for the White House and regulators alike, amid ongoing litigation and a recently-launched inquiry into ticketing practices.

As you’d expect, Live Nation is lobbying energetically. Variety reported on its latest submission aimed at the US administration, the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission.

According to the report, the company is suggesting reforms including a 20% cap on ticket-resale prices; more control for artists over secondary ticket sales; and – a running theme – stronger enforcement of the existing BOTS Act to combat scalpers and the technology they use.

One thing is for sure – you can never be too safe when it comes to where you’re buying tickets from. We’ve put together a few tips on how to protect yourself from ticketing scams. 

Only buy tickets from official sources. With any event, official ticketing agent/s or the venue is the best place to buy tickets from. Check out the artist’s own website, as the official ticket source/s will always be listed there.

Avoid buying tickets from individuals on social media or other unofficial platforms. 

Organizers of Denmark’s Roskilde Festival announced another successful year, with eight days of music from more than 185 artists performed to standing-room-only crowds. According to event organizers, the festival sold over 100,000 tickets for 2025, including 80,000 full passes and a successful debut of the festival’s new one- and two-day ticket options.

Attendance this year was boosted by a diverse and comprehensive lineup featuring artists from nearly 45 countries around the world, including Olivia Rodrigo, Charli XCX, Stormzy, Tyla, Doechii, Jamie xx, FKA Twigs, Fontaines D.C., and Nine Inch Nails.

"Dancefloor Pro, a purpose-built platform designed to “empower promoters and venue operators,” has launched to the public.

The service acts as a dedicated ticketing hub for dance music promoters, and will provide marketing support, community building tools and “everything required to foster strong bonds and develop loyal, long-term superfans,” for promoters, Dancefloor Pro tells Festival Insights.

The Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) has called for an investigation into Live Nation from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority. The trade body recently provided evidence for a Business and Trade Committee inquiry into pricing, competition and consumer protection.

On June 24, Phil Bowdery (executive president, touring international music, Live Nation) and Andrew Parsons (managing director, Ticketmaster, part of Live Nation) gave evidence to the session (pictured).