Stories Set to Reshape the Live Music Industry in 2026
After years when streaming grabbed headlines, the live music industry was thrust into the spotlight in 2025. Pending legal actions and legislation are likely to keep it there.
A look ahead at the stories set to reshape the live music industry in 2026.
Live Nation & Ticketmaster
Live Nation and its Ticketmaster division are facing multiple legal battles which will reach the courtroom in 2026. A suit filed by the Department of Justice and 30 states alleges monopolistic practices and could split the company in pieces. The Federal Trade Commission is also in court alleging Ticketmaster colluded with scalpers. Then there are multiple lawsuits filed by Swifties and other fans, several of which appear on track for Class Action status.
Ticketing
The fights that fans are most likely to feel the effects of first in 2026 are over ticket resales.
Federal legislation to regulate in ticket resellers is stalled like so much in Congress. So the action has shifted to the states. Many of these efforts mirror the proposed federal TICKET Act. It reached the U.S. Senate in April of 2025 and would establish national standards for price transparency and consumer protections across the live event industry.
Some states are going much farther. Maine has already passed a tough 10% resale cap with D.C. and Illinois likely to follow.
Other states, including Maryland and Minnesota, have implemented “all-in pricing” and bans on speculative ticketing – the practice of selling tickets before they are officially owned.
In 2025, Michigan became the 14th state to criminalize the use of bot software for mass ticket acquisition. Massachusetts recently moved to require resales only through the original purchase platform.
The results of these state efforts will be judged in 2026, as others consider their own legislation. They’ll also be monitoring tough new UK laws prohibiting resale of concerts, sports, and theatre tickets above the original face value plus fees, which will also be capped.
NIVA, NITO & Fix The Tix
While StubHub, SeatGeek and Vivid Seats spend tens of millions of dollars on lobbyists, a handful of organizations are battling on behalf of fans with far less resources.
NIVA (National Independent Venue Association) is leading the charge for independent venues, promoters and festivals. Joining in is talent agent and manager trade group NITO (National Independent Talent Organization). Both are also part of the Fix The Tix coalition whose members also include the Recording Academy, the RIAA, UMG, Bandsintown, Eventbrite, APAP, Future of Music Coalition, the Black Music Action Coalition and the Music Artists Coalition.
Live Music Industry David vs. Goliath
NIVA has also become Live Nation and Ticketmaster‘s most vocal critic. Expect their call to break Live Nation and Ticketmaster into separate companies to grow louder as the DOJ trial begins this March.
NIVA sees its clash with Live Nation as a battle for the survival of independent live music in the U.S. It’s State Of Live report released in mid-2025 showed 64% of the independent US stages surveyed were loosing money.
“The current system is rigged against fans, artists, and independent stages,” said Stephen Parker, Executive Director of NIVA mid-year. “This is a defining moment.” Parker and his members see two major “threats” to the live music ecosystem: Live Nation’s “vertically integrated monopoly” and “the unregulated secondary ticketing market.”
2025 saw some independent venues and festivals shut down even as Live Nation expanded on both fronts. Early signs point to more of the same in 2026.
This year expect NIVA and aligned organizations to push for regulations and remedies designed to “restore competition, protect consumers, and support independent venues, promoters, and festivals.”
“These spaces are where culture happens,” Parker told NPR in a year end interview. “If these spaces don’t exist, all you’re left with are arenas and massive amphitheaters owned by international corporations.”
Bruce Houghton
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“Stories set to reshape the Live Music Industry in 2026” first appeared on Hypebot.com.
