StubHub has spent as much as $2.6 million on lobbying in California this quarter to defeat a proposed bill that would cap secondary ticket prices, a sum that exceeds the state-level lobbying expenditures of Chevron, Verizon, AT&T and OpenAI during the same period.
Lobbying Blitz
The secondary ticketing platform is working to block AB 1720, legislation that would limit the resale price of a concert ticket to 10% above its face value and restrict total fees to 10%. StubHub’s business model depends on a free-market resale system where high-demand tickets can be flipped at steep markups, generating percentage-based commissions for the platform.
Bill Provisions and Support
The original bill drew backing from the Music Artist Coalition, the Future of Music Coalition, the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), Live Nation Entertainment and Ticketmaster. Stephen Parker, executive director of NIVA, said the measure threatens a business model built on inflated secondary-market prices.
“They are staring into a future that does not allow them to make millions across the country by price gouging consumers,” Parker said. “California is one of the biggest concert markets in the country. If California goes in terms of consumer protections around ticketing, we think the rest of the nation will soon follow.”
Amendment Narrows Scope
The latest version of the bill includes an amendment that restricts its application to venues with a capacity of 3,000 or fewer, effectively excluding the large amphitheaters, arenas and stadiums where the most lucrative resale activity occurs.
National Context
While federal ticketing reform has stalled, several states have moved ahead. Maine, Vermont and Washington, D.C. have already enacted resale restrictions, and Massachusetts is advancing similar legislation.
