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Twitterverse schools Sen. John Cornyn on nation's priorities, and legislating tickets sure isn't one [1]

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Date: 2023-05-24

It appears that the one thing that can bring the left and right together is a federal politician trying to legislate ticket selling.

Texas U.S. Senator John Cornyn recently invited members of the entertainment industry to a press conference where he announced he is working on legislation called the “FANS First Act” that would “improve transparency for ticket pricing, it would increase consumer or fan protection, it would restore market integrity, and it will punish the bad actors who engage in predatory ticket sales practices that hurt all of these artists, these athletes, these venues and the fans, most importantly."

Fourteen years ago, the last time the senators attempted to improve the fans experience, they approved the mega merger of behemoths Ticketmaster and Live Nation, creating Live Nation Entertainment (LNE).

Many critics have suggested that LNE is a monopoly that has stifled competition and innovation and led to a diminished experience for fans, such as the Taylor Swift and Bruce Springsteen ticketing disasters of 2022. Bill Werde, a former Billboard editorial director tweeted, “Hard to believe that Bruce Springsteen turned out to be the one to make music fans miss scalpers.”

In January, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, with Sen. Cornyn as a member, held a public hearing on the ticket market, seemingly body slamming LNE for decreasing competition in the market by controlling venues, tickets and artists. Critics of the merger point to increasing rising ticket prices as a direct result of the formation of the Ticketmaster/Live Nation monopoly.

It appeared that the committee agreed with the critics and were poised to make some real progress towards protecting fans when Senators Amy Klobuchar (Democrat) and Mike Lee (Republican) (Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights) sent evidence from their bipartisan hearing to the Department of Justice. They requested that the DOJ examine LNE’s anti-competitive conduct.

There was hope that maybe the senate would move to reign in ticket costs for fans. Not so, reports the ticket news magazine Ticket News. Several weeks after the senate hearing, Irving Azoff, the live entertainment industry guru and representative of mega acts such as Garth Brooks, as well as the former CEO of Ticketmaster and chairman of Live Nation, convened a panel of “experts” at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, where Azoff noted during a recorded session that he and his wife had dinner with a sitting U.S. Senator who, according to his words, stated “now the show is over, that was just a show.”

A current U.S. Senator admitting that a senate committee hearing was just a show and no real action would result? There would be no reckoning for the weary fans.

With moneyed people like Azoff meeting with unnamed senators who privately assure them of their continued unfettered ability to fleece the fans, it is no wonder there is a steady decline in American’s trust in their government, with the numbers hitting all-time lows.

But back to Sen. Cornyn. While many members of the committee seemed to advocate for action to control costs for fans by controlling the Ticketmaster/Live Nation cartel, Sen. Cornyn seems to be going in the opposite direction with this new bill he is proposing. Or maybe in the same direction, as the bill appears to be a vehicle for the Ticketmaster/Live Nation universe to strike back from the shellacking they received at the senate hearing, while generating headlines but going nowhere. Just another show.

Now, both the left and the right have come together in Twitterverse to remind the senator that the U.S. Senate has a lousy track record protecting the fan’s interest, and this nation has far greater issues to address than selling tickets.

x When Texans buy concert or game tickets, they shouldn't have to compete with bots & predatory scalpers.



Proud to join @robertearlkeen, @TexasLonghorns, @AustinFC, @RRExpress, @nivassoc, & others at @MoodyCenterATX to announce legislation I’m working on called the FANS First… pic.twitter.com/VYBsAS5U17 — Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) May 19, 2023

x This legislation is way more important than the debt limit, immigration, or fentanyl crisis — Kbelle (@kbelle1213) May 19, 2023

x Promoters could do this on their own, but don’t. Government should not be trying to solve problems that the private sector is unwilling to. Stop abusing the commerce clause to benefit cronies. — JoJo (@walkinghispath) May 20, 2023

x Wow, Senator, thank you for taking on this defining issue of our era. — No Mystery (@William38294330) May 19, 2023

x When Texans go to the mall or school they shouldn't have to worry about having their head blown off. — Fletch - just Fletch (@FletchTaylor) May 19, 2023

x Promoters could do this on their own, but don’t. Government should not be trying to solve problems that the private sector is unwilling to. Stop abusing the commerce clause to benefit cronies. — JoJo (@walkinghispath) May 20, 2023

Twitter user GOAT 1687 summed up what I expect may be Mr. Azoff’s personal favorite, “the donors are complaining the fees used to bribe politicians are getting out of hand.”

x The donors are complaining the fees used to bribe politicians are getting out of hand. — GOAT1687 (@GOAT1687) May 20, 2023

It would appear that for many Twitter users feel Sen. Cornyn’s this show should be over.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/5/24/2171010/-Twitterverse-schools-Sen-John-Cornyn-on-nation-s-priorities-and-legislating-tickets-sure-isn-t-one

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