EmpowerFansCA

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[EmpowerFansCA @EmpowerFansCA]

Empower Fans, Not Monopolies is a coalition of small business, consumer rights, and equity groups working to urge the #CALeg to increase competition in live event ticketing while also enhancing the rights of fans.

Join Us ⬇️
https://t.co/NbZ8riQwCx

[EmpowerFansCA @EmpowerFansCA]

Former DOJ antitrust attorneys say they were fired after resisting Ticketmaster's lobbying efforts: "There was lobbying that was occurring ... We stood up to that and said 'That's wrong' and, by doing that, we were fired." https://t.co/ihsisWrOsa

[EmpowerFansCA @EmpowerFansCA]

"The warning lights have been flashing for decades." -@RepRaskin on Live Nation/Ticketmaster's monopoly taking over the live event system at today's "Corruption Takes Center State" House Judiciary Committee hearing. https://t.co/2xCwfJ2jrU

[TicketNews @TicketNews]

A Monday hearing in Washington D.C. is expected to dig into the perceived "corruption" that led to Live Nation's DOJ settlement.

Led by Rep. Jamie Raskin and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, the event is set for 3:30 and will be streamed live.

https://t.co/cqhXmzzuUN

[TicketNews @TicketNews]

Ticketmaster is facing new scrutiny after its global president said he “can’t find” any company messaging that queue positions are random — raising fresh questions about how high-demand ticket queues actually work. 🧵

[EmpowerFansCA @EmpowerFansCA]

ICYMI: Rev. Dr. Tecoy Porter, Sr. on #AB1349: "This bill runs counter to the values of fairness and inclusion that our communities hold dear...[and] fails to address key consumer concerns..." #caleg – NO on #AB1349
https://t.co/HoDsAYxpeS

[EmpowerFansCA @EmpowerFansCA]

“When a monopoly supports regulation of a market, there is a 99% chance … it protects their monopoly and market position.” - @ppi Director of Competitive Policy on Ticketmaster/Live Nation support of AB 1349 and AB 1720...

[San Francisco Chronicle @sfchronicle]

Fed up with resale ticket markups? Two California bills aim to crack down on a market that many believe has spiraled out of control. But would they really help? https://t.co/qkFmBa9T83

[EmpowerFansCA @EmpowerFansCA]

Roberto C. Arnold, from Rancho Cucamonga, shares how Ticketmaster left him and his wife without seats (or a refund) to a #DaddyYankee show they'd paid for after tickets disappeared from their account. @SenEloiseReyes #caleg

[EmpowerFansCA @EmpowerFansCA]

ICYMI: "Critics say [#AB1349] reflects...a familiar 'playbook,' in which dominant companies support reforms that appear consumer-friendly while...expanding...their control" @LAFOCUSNEWS #caleg

https://t.co/3sd60qxmPO

[TicketNews @TicketNews]

State AGs are signalling that they intend to push for a breakup of Live Nation and Ticketmaster after last week's guilty verdict in the antitrust case came down.
https://t.co/l4wH7wD9c6

[EmpowerFansCA @EmpowerFansCA]

ICYMI: Ticketmaster bullied Irvine city officials, threatening their jobs if they didn't agree to use Live Nation as the exclusive promoter at a new venue.

"It felt like a bully trying to take advantage of a less powerful entity" – former city manager
https://t.co/9eGTlkJTv3

[EmpowerFansCA @EmpowerFansCA]

ICYMI: Rev. Dr. Porter @nansacramento says NO to #AB1349 & Ticketmaster in @sacbee_news op-ed. "...the ability to attend [live] events shouldn't be determined by a single corporation using political power...to tighten its grip" #caleg

https://t.co/HoDsAYxpeS

[EmpowerFansCA @EmpowerFansCA]

Jose Barrera, LULAC: #caleg "should really be standing up for consumers instead of advancing bills that are there to help a monopoly that has been caught on record calling its fans stupid and has bragged about robbing them blind." @Jbyorel

https://t.co/VINOGOroja

[EmpowerFansCA @EmpowerFansCA]

Doug Kessler, Executive Director of Si Se Puede, Fresno, Kern, Kings & Tulare on why Ticketmaster's #AB1349 is bad news for California. #caleg

[EmpowerFansCA @EmpowerFansCA]

Rebecca P., from Apple Valley, on how Ticketmaster has priced her out: @TomLackey36 @SenOchoaBogh #caleg

[EmpowerFansCA @EmpowerFansCA]

Rev. Dr. Porter, Sr., @nansacramento, warns #caleg that #AB1349 “would give Ticketmaster sweeping control over how tickets can be used, transferred or resold after purchase, stripping consumers of basic ownership rights."

https://t.co/HoDsAYxpeS

[EmpowerFansCA @EmpowerFansCA]

"...the fight over Ticketmaster has become a test of whether the systems meant to regulate corporate power are capable of challenging it – or whether they risk reshaping it in ways that leave power intact." #caleg – no on #AB1349

https://t.co/3sd60qxmPO

[EmpowerFansCA @EmpowerFansCA]

"After the [Ticketmaster] trial in March, Trump began calling around to ask why it hadn't been settled. What's the holdup? He wanted to know...it was an extraordinary role for a president to play in a routine antitrust investigation." #caleg

https://t.co/jdMdTtwqt3

[EmpowerFansCA @EmpowerFansCA]

ICYMI: In an entirely unsurprising move, @guardian reveals that Ticketmaster increased their fees on fans to "offset revenue loss" from the FTC's crackdown on hidden fees.

They eliminated one fee in "compliance" and replaced it with another.
https://t.co/usnpchNLrG

[EmpowerFansCA @EmpowerFansCA]

ICYMI: released docs reveal that Ticketmaster execs bragged about gouging "stupid" customers & "robbing them blind." @TicketNews explores how the exchange exposes Ticketmaster's use of holdbacks & premium pricing to create false scarcity & squeeze fans.

https://t.co/yWftyjDkEM