The National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), California’s live music community, and 28 U.S. music industry and consumer organizations are urging California lawmakers to reject AB 1349 ahead of a Monday afternoon Senate vote. The amended bill would expose independent venues, festivals, and promoters to significant legal liability while exempting secondary ticket marketplaces such as StubHub.
Amended Bill Raises Liability Concerns
Originally introduced by California Assembly member Isaac Bryan, AB 1349 was designed to:
- limit ticket resale
- ban speculative (fake) ticketing
- prohibit deceptive resale websites
After heavy secondary market lobbying, the bill was drastically altered. As amended in the Senate, it exposes independent venues, festivals, and promoters to significant legal liability while explicitly carving out exemptions for secondary ticket marketplaces like StubHub.
StubHub spent as much as $2.6 million to alter the legislation, an amount reported to exceed spending by Chevron, Verizon, AT&T and OpenAI this quarter.
Industry Coalition Urges No Vote
NIVA leadership, including Executive Director Stephen Parker and California Chapter President Joe Rinaldi, are among those urging independent venue operators, staff, musicians, and live music fans to contact their state legislators before the Monday afternoon vote.
NIVA and California’s independent stages are aligned with a broad coalition of music industry organizations, labor unions, and community leaders focused on protecting artists, stages, and fans.
The California State Senate will take up AB 1349 on Monday afternoon. Independent stages and live music supporters that oppose the bill need to submit comments immediately to ensure state representatives vote no.
