Government funding bill gives Congress a raise, sets new rules on ticket sales
Congressional leadership released a 1,500-page spending bill to keep the government open through March 14. The legislation was supposed to be a simple continuation of funding while lawmakers negotiate a package that will cover all of 2025.
The drawn-out negotiation process led to everyone wanting a piece of the pie. The bill now includes dozens of add-ons, many of which have nothing to do with government funding.
“They got a bunch of garbage they want to pass,” Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., told reporters.
The bill contains $100 billion in disaster relief for hurricane recovery in the Southeast and $30 billion in aid for farmers. Those items are just a drop in the bucket of the massive bill.
As Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, pointed out, in the less than 45 days since the election, lawmakers added $330 billion in deficit spending.
“We’re profoundly unserious on spending,” Roy said.
A raise for members of Congress
Lawmakers are giving themselves a raise for the first time since 2009 by restarting cost of living adjustments. Members currently make $174,000 a year.
According to Investopedia, “a family of four with both adults working needs about $135,000 in income before taxes to make ends meet in Washington, D.C.”
Here’s the catch: Members of Congress have to maintain two households, one in D.C., the other in their home state. That’s not easy considering D.C. is the ninth most expensive city in the country, behind Los Angeles and ahead of Boston.
“If you’ve never given members of Congress a raise, for 14 years they haven’t had a raise, then you can only attract people like me who made enough money in a prior line of work who can afford to come here,” Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., said on C-SPAN.
New rules for ticket sales
The continuing resolution includes new rules for ticket issuers like Ticketmaster and StubHub. The bill requires them to “clearly and conspicuously” display the total price of the ticket and an itemized list of the base price and fees. There’s a similar provision for hotel room prices.
RFK Stadium revitalization
There’s also a measure to transfer the 174-acre RFK stadium campus to the District of Columbia. The federal government currently controls the unused land.
The city wants to knock down the rusting stadium and build a new one. The new stadium will be surrounded by apartments, office buildings, shops and restaurants.
The city hopes to bring the Washington Commanders back to D.C.
Other policy provisions include restrictions on U.S. capital investment in China.
There are also five year extensions for special trade programs with Haiti and Africa. Those include duty-free access for apparel and textile products.
According to the FTC, “the Junk Fees Rule requires that businesses clearly and conspicuously disclose the true total price inclusive of all mandatory fees whenever they offer, display, or advertise any price of live-event tickets or short-term lodging.”
The rule is “nothing more than an attempt to micromanage businesses’ pricing structures, often undermining businesses’ ability to give consumers options at different price points,” the group said in February. “To be clear, the U.S. Chamber supports efforts to enhance price transparency … However, the FTC’s proposed rule severely misses the mark.”
“The proposal would make sure that corporations cannot lure people in with an artificially low price, but then when it’s time to make the purchase, add all sorts of mystery fees that significantly raise the overall cost,” FTC Chair Lina Khansaid in April.
But the U.S. Chamber said the FTC’s proposal undermines American free enterprise by replacing “consumers’ ability to pick winners and losers in the marketplace.”
Straight Arrow News reached out to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for a statement now that the rule has been finalized.
The FTC has had some industry allies, including the ticket sale giant Live Nation Entertainment.
“We’ve led the industry by adopting all-in pricing at all Live Nation venues and festivals and applaud the FTC’s industry-wide mandate so fans will now be able to see the total price of a ticket right upfront no matter where they go to see a show or buy a ticket,” Live Nation told Straight Arrow News in an email.
“We’re pleased to see the FTC mandate the necessary changes to make ticket-buying more transparent for fans so the first price they see is the price they pay,” Ticketmaster added.
Live Nation Entertainment may be in the FTC’s corner on this issue, but it is still facing legal action from the country’s other antitrust enforcer, the Department of Justice, which has accused it of having a monopoly over ticket sales. Live Nation and Ticketmaster merged into Live Nation Entertainment in 2010.
One of the biggest names in short-term rentals is also on board with the FTC rule change. Airbnb implemented a “total price display” on its search results two years ago.
Straight Arrow News also reached out to the American Hotel and Lodging Association for a comment on the new rule but had not heard back at the time of publishing.
This final rule comes in the final weeks of President Joe Biden’s term. He made hidden fees a central point of his administration’s agenda and even used his 2023 State of the Union address to talk about the issue.
“My administration is also taking on junk fees, those hidden surcharges too many companies use to make you pay more,” Biden said in the national address. “We’re making airlines show you the full ticket price up front [and] refund your money if your flight is canceled or delayed; we’ve reduced exorbitant bank overdrafts by saving consumers more than $1 billion [per] year; we’re cutting credit card late fees by 75% from $30 to $8. Junk fees may not matter to the very wealthy, but they matter to most other folks in homes like the one I grew up in, like many of you did. They add up to hundreds of dollars a month.”
It’s unclear what fate the rule will face as President-elect Donald Trump enters the White House next month. The commission passed the rule by a 4-to-1 vote. The only dissenting vote is Commissioner Andrew Ferguson, whom Trump has named to be the next FTC chair.
“I dissent only on the ground that the time for rulemaking by the Biden-Harris FTC is over,” Ferguson said. “This lame-duck Commission should give its regulatory pen a much-needed rest, focus on routine law-enforcement, and prepare for an orderly transition.”
How Trump 2.0 could change the landscape of Big Tech antitrust
With two months until President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, his policy plans are clear in many areas. But what do the next four years of antitrust regulation look like after the Biden administration’s aggressive enforcement?
Unlike trade, immigration and energy policy, it’s not expected that Trump’s goal is to undo the previous administration’s work. And a lot has happened over the past four years. But when it comes to Big Tech, experts point out that there’s no love lost between Trump and Silicon Valley.
“It’s a sector he doesn’t particularly like,” former Federal Trade Commission Chair William Kovacic told Straight Arrow News. “So my general intuition is that in that area, he says, ‘Carry on.’”
When it comes to Khan, her term as chair and commissioner expired in September 2024.
“My instinct would be that on the day of the inauguration, that evening or the next day, President Trump will sign a letter that designates one of the two Republicans on the commission to be the chair, probably as acting chair,” Kovacic said.
Even after the incoming president replaces Khan as chair, she could remain a commissioner until her replacement clears the confirmation process.
“The speed with which she departs the commission will depend on her own personal preferences,” Kovacic said. “Does she want to stay as part of a loyal opposition, maintaining a three-vote bloc that could operate to retard a rollback of her program?”
Meanwhile, the Department of Justice recently won a landmark case against Google when a judge ruled it monopolized the search space. The government is now asking the judge to force Google to sell off Chrome as the most severe remedy. The DOJ started the case under Trump’s first administration.
In the specific case of Google, Kovacic doesn’t believe the Trump administration will stand in the way of any action.
“I think at a minimum that means that DOJ will have a pretty broad remit to proceed with wrapping up the case as it sees fit, without the White House jumping in and saying, ‘Don’t do that,’” he said.
With a new administration set to take charge of antitrust, Kovacic said the antitrust legacy under Biden won’t disappear, especially when it comes to Khan, who has received support from incoming Vice President JD Vance.
“What she leaves behind, in part, is a renewed debate about what antitrust should be all about, and that’s going to be durable,” Kovacic said.
Ticketmaster’s ‘dynamic pricing’ outrage attracts UK government scrutiny
The U.K. government is placing increased scrutiny on Ticketmaster amidst an Oasis reunion tour. It launched an investigation after fans were left outraged at the ticket buying experience for the event.
Many saw prices surge from about $180 to upwards of $460 due to “dynamic pricing.” Some questioned why the band was warning against buying from unauthorized resale sites while allowing Ticketmaster to sell tickets at such inflated prices.
U.K. Culture Minister Lisa Nandy weighed in on the controversy, calling it “depressing” that so many fans should be priced out. She promised the government would address issues around dynamic pricing in an upcoming consultation on consumer protections for ticket resales.
Ticketmaster defended its pricing model, explaining that its “platinum” tickets are priced based on demands. It said that prices aren’t set by the company, but event organizers.
The member of Parliament representing Oasis’s hometown of Manchester found herself paying more than she’d like for a ticket. She admitted to the BBC that she’s not a fan of surge pricing, but it’s just how the market operates right now.
This is just the latest flashpoint for Ticketmaster, the company has faced backlash several times over ticket sales. Most recently, the company is under fire in the U.S. after a chaotic sale for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, which led to a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing and a lawsuit from the Justice Department earlier this month.
10 more states join DOJ’s antitrust suit against Live Nation, Ticketmaster
There’s more trouble for Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation as 10 more states have joined the antitrust lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice, 29 states and the District of Columbia in May. The suit accused Ticketmaster of acting as a monopoly and inflating concert ticket prices following outrage by consumers — specifically Taylor Swift fans who had trouble accessing tickets to her Eras tour.
The attorneys generals of Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, Utah and Vermont joined the case on Monday, Aug. 19, as the DOJ issued an amended complaint with more allegations against the live entertainment companies.
Along with the DOJ’s goals of breaking up Live Nation and Ticketmaster and “restoring competition in the live concert industry,” states are now seeking treble damages for what they say fans were overcharged. With claims being filed under federal anti-monopoly laws, states now have the ability to seek three times the monetary damages.
“It’s time for a new era where fans, venues and artists are not taken advantage of by big corporations that run the world of live events,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in statement.
The DOJ said Live Nation owns or controls more than 265 concert venues in North America, and through Ticketmaster, it controls roughly 80% or more of major venues’ primary ticketing for concerts.
The suit said internal Live Nation documents indicated Ticketmaster is the primary ticketer for about 80% of the U.S. arenas that host NBA or NHL teams, adding no other rival ticketed more than 14%.
“Live Nation’s anticompetitive conduct has not only harmed fans in the form of more and higher fees, but also undermines innovation,” the complaint reads. “Competition increases the array and quality of services available and makes it easier for fans to find and see artists they love.”
In response to the amended complaint, a Live Nation spokesperson told Reuters the lawsuit “still won’t solve the issues fans care about relating to ticket prices, service fees, and access to in-demand shows.”
The spokesperson added, “We look forward to sharing more facts as the case progresses.”
Hacking group says it stole personal info of 550M Ticketmaster customers
A hacking group claims to have stolen the personal data of more than 500 million Ticketmaster customers around the world. The group, known as ShinyHunters, said the stolen data includes the names, addresses, phone numbers and partial credit card details. The group is offering to sell that data for $500,000.
Ticketmaster has not yet confirmed the security breach, but Australia’s Department of Home Affairs said it is working with the company in the wake of this hacking incident. A U.S. Embassy spokesperson in Australia said the FBI has offered assistance to Australian authorities.
The authenticity of the data being sold by ShinyHunters has not yet been verified. If verified, the hack could be the most significant breach ever in terms of numbers and the extent of the data stolen, according to the BBC.
This is just the latest issue for Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation. On Thursday, May 23, the U.S. Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit against the ticketing giant. It comes after allegations the company has abused its position as a concert promoter, ticket seller and venue owner to suppress competition, leading to reduced consumer choice and higher ticket prices.
The lawsuit is also a response to public outcry, notably after Ticketmaster’s mishandling of ticket sales for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in 2022, which led to significant backlash from fans and politicians.
This is also not the first time Ticketmaster has been hit with security issues. In 2020, the company admitted it hacked into one of its competitors and agreed to pay a $10 million fine.
Justice Department expected to file antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation, owner of Ticketmaster
The Justice Department is expected to file an antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation, the owner of Ticketmaster, as early as Thursday, May 23, in a New York federal court. The DOJ’s actions could range from demanding the company halt any illegal practices to pursuing a more drastic measure of asking a court to break up the company.
“We have reached a turning point in antitrust enforcement, not because we as enforcers — not just because we as enforcers believe it’s important, but because the public is demanding it,” Jonathan Kanter, the Justice Department’s top antitrust official, said during an event with The Washington Post in May.
The incident prompted lawmakers to intensely question Joe Berchtold, president and CFO of Live Nation Entertainment, during a three-hour hearing. Senators challenged Berchtold on whether his company’s dominance in the industry was hurting competitors, musicians and fans.
“I want to congratulate and thank you for an absolutely stunning achievement,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. “You have brought together Republicans and Democrats in an absolutely unified cause.”
Dozens of jurors excused as Trump’s hush money trial begins
At least 50 possible jurors were excused after saying they could not be fair regarding former President Trump’s hush money trial. The armorer on the set of “Rust” is sentenced following the fatal shooting of the film’s cinematographer. These stories and more highlight The Morning Rundown for Tuesday, April 16, 2024.
Dozens of jurors excused as Trump’s hush money trial begins
At least 50 of the 96 potential jurors in the first group were dismissed after admitting they could not be fair or impartial in hearing the case. Additional jurors were excused for various other reasons.
This leaves about 34 potential jurors to fill out a questionnaire, answering 42 questions on topics including their media consumption and any connections to the former president.
Trump is facing felony charges related to hush money payments in 2016 to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all 34 counts charged against him. Jury selection will continue today and could take up to two weeks, with the trial itself expected to last six to eight weeks.
Tax return: Biden’s earned $619,976; paid $146,629 in federal income tax
As reported on “The Morning Rundown,” April 15 was the deadline for Americans to file their taxes, including President Joe Biden.
The White House released Biden and first lady Jill Biden’s joint tax return, showing the couple earned nearly $620,000 in 2023, with $400,000 coming from the presidential salary. This is up from about $580,000 they earned in 2022.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden paid $146,629 in federal income taxes, an effective federal income tax of 23.7% https://t.co/b8FZ1550TV
The Bidens paid more than $146,629 in federal income tax, with an effective income tax rate of 23.7%.
The White House issued a statement affirming President Biden’s belief that “the longstanding tradition of annually releasing presidential tax returns should continue unbroken,” possibly referencing his 2024 presidential opponent. Trump did not release his tax returns while in office, though six years of returns were made public by the House Ways and Means Committee in 2022.
Reminder this Tax Day:
Trump wants to give his wealthy friends a tax break.
When asked if Trump will release his 2023 tax returns, a campaign spokeswoman told USA Today that the former president “has released more information to the American public about his personal finances than any candidate in history.”
Boeing defends aircraft safety before Senate hearing
Ahead of a Senate hearing on Wednesday, April 17, concerning Boeing’s safety, the company is denying allegations by a whistleblower about shortcuts in the production of its 787 Dreamliner and 777 aircraft, saying the planes meet all safety standards.
The whistleblower, Sam Salehpour, is a former Boeing employee who claimed that assembly processes put “excessive” stress on airplane joints, potentially shortening the aircrafts’ lifespans. He added he saw workers trying to get misaligned parts to fit by “jumping on the pieces of the airplane to get them to align.”
Found guilty last month, Gutierrez-Reed received the maximum sentence for mistakenly loading live ammunition into a revolver held by actor Alec Baldwin on the Santa Fe set in 2021.
Baldwin, also facing charges of involuntary manslaughter, is scheduled for trial on July 10 following his indictment by a grand jury in January.
Report: DOJ to file antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation
The Department of Justice is preparing to file an antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster owner Live Nation, according to a Wall Street Journal report, with the suit expected as soon as next month.
While the exact details have not been disclosed, the Journal reports the DOJ would claim that Live Nation leveraged its dominance in the live event ticketing market in a way that undermines competition.
Live Nation faced scrutiny following Ticketmaster’s site crashing when Taylor Swift concert tickets went on sale in November 2022, with U.S. senators grilling Live Nation’s president during a hearing a few months later.
BREAKING: The Justice Department plans to sue Live Nation/Ticketmaster for running an illegal monopoly over the ticketing industry.
This corporate monopoly charges too much for tickets, exploits venues, and hurts fans and artists.
Live Nation merged with Ticketmaster in 2010, with the Journal reporting Live Nation now holds more than 80% of the market for primary ticket sales in the biggest venues in the U.S.
A Ticketmaster spokesperson replied that the company has more competition today than it has ever had.
Indiana Fever select Caitlin Clark as No. 1 overall pick in WNBA Draft
Caitlin Clark, known for holding multiple college basketball records, was selected as the No. 1 overall draft pick by the Indiana Fever at the 2024 WNBA draft Monday night.
The draft was held at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, marking the first time since 2016 that it was conducted in front of fans. Tickets for the event sold out within minutes of going on sale.
In February, Clark announced she was entering the draft instead of playing another year at Iowa.
Clark’s record-breaking college career includes becoming the all-time points leader in men’s or women’s Division I history and the all-time leader in points, assists and 3-pointers in NCAA tournament history.
Now, Clark is aiming to make more history at the professional level.
Recent ruling could clear path for Swiftie lawsuit against Live Nation
Ticketmaster — owned by Live Nation Entertainment — has faced scrutiny as fans expressed anger over challenges they faced when trying to purchase concert tickets. A determined group of fans who tried to secure tickets for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour and later initiated a lawsuit against Live Nation — after battling technical glitches, competition with bots and high prices — may get its day in court.
Julie Barfuss, the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, is at the forefront of this legal battle. The complaint, filed in December 2022, claims breach of contract, fraud, negligence, negligent misrepresentation and antitrust violations.
“Honestly, I’m not in it for the money. I’ve never been,” Barfuss said. “And, obviously, the U.S. leg of the tour is over. I’m not in it for the tickets either. I never really was. I have the ability to buy tickets on the second-hand market. I did make it to a concert. But I would love to see some change.”
Ticketmaster often stands as the exclusive ticketing distributor for major events, leaving fans with little choice but to resort to the resale market. Furthermore, Ticketmaster has safeguarded itself from prolonged, costly trials with an “arbitration clause.”
“Back when I was first thinking about filing this lawsuit, all the naysayers — there were a lot of naysayers — and the biggest comment that was made to us is, ‘You’ll never go anywhere, because you all of four individual cases agree to arbitration,’” attorney Jennifer Kinder said.
This arbitration clause, which is in Ticketmaster’s Terms of Use, essentially requires users to forfeit their right to sue the company. In August, Live Nation’s attempt to push plaintiffs into private arbitration failed in Skot Heckman et al v. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. et al.
U.S. District Judge George Wu ruled that “the mass arbitration protocol creates a process that poses a serious risk of being fundamentally unfair to claimants.” The ruling may create an opportunity for the Swifties to avoid arbitration and lay the groundwork for other similar cases.
“To me, Live Nation is too big of a monopoly — they have too big of a stranglehold on the market,” Barfuss said. “I would love to see that broken up a little bit. And I don’t know that our lawsuit is the thing that would be the tipping point on that. But I feel like it’s just a drop in the bucket, and every drop in the bucket builds up against them.”
“Antitrust is unsexy and is unappealing and as boring a concept as it is — the truth is it’s just consumer protection,” Kinder said. “And there is nothing more important to you and I every day as consumers when we go to the grocery store, when we buy school supplies for our kids, when we bury our parents, when we buy a car–there is no more important issue than consumer protection.”
While fans continue their legal pursuit, some artists have attempted to address the issues themselves. Country singer Zach Bryan, after boycotting Ticketmaster and releasing an album titled “All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster,” eventually returned to the platform for his upcoming tour.
The Cure chose to stick with Ticketmaster for its first U.S. tour in seven years but made tickets non-transferable and avoided dynamic pricing. Nonetheless, fans remained dissatisfied with fees and technical issues.
Singer Maggie Rogers took a different approach, conducting a pre-sale allowing fans to purchase tickets in person at their local box office. But those tactics were not feasible for a stadium tour like Taylor Swift’s, as Ticketmaster remains the dominant vendor for major venues in the U.S.
Politico has reported that the Department of Justice may file an antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation and Ticketmaster in the coming months, though Ticketmaster has repeatedly denied engaging in antitrust behaviors.
As Swifties persist in their pursuit of justice, the spotlight on Ticketmaster’s ticket-selling practices continues to intensify, potentially ushering in a new era for ticket buyers and their quest for fairness.
The Internal Revenue Service is cracking down on people reselling concert tickets for profit. A new IRS regulation will require ticket-reselling platforms like SeatGeek and StubHub to file information on any users who resold tickets for $600 or more this year.
The new rule comes as a record number of event tickets were sold in 2023. Fans shelled out thousands of dollars for tickets to see their favorite stars.
Those who resold tickets to events like the Taylor Swift Eras Tour, Beyonce’s Renaissance World Tour, or to see soccer star Lionel Messi will be subject to the new regulation.
The average Taylor Swift concert ticket sold for $1,600 on SeatGeek. If a person sold just one ticket at that price, they should expect to receive a 1099-K tax form this year.
Before 2023, ticket-reselling platforms only had to report sellers with revenues of at least $20,000 over 200 or more transactions.
Under the new IRS regulation, $600 is the threshold with no minimum number of transactions. Because of the drastic difference, the IRS expects to collect taxes from quadruple the number of sellers from years past.
This new IRS regulation is part of President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The Biden administration advocated for the tax rule, calling it a crackdown on the wealthy. However, Republicans argue the lower threshold will impact middle class Americans.
There are bills in both the House and the Senate that would increase the $600 threshold, but those efforts have stalled so far.