Bill Pascrell: Last News

Concert promotion giant Live Nation should be broken up, according to New Jersey Democratic Congressman Bill Pascrell, who claims its safety record is disturbing.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorAnyone who’s tried to buy a concert ticket in the past three decades knows what a frustrating price-gouging and seemingly corrupt process it is — many major concerts are sold out literally seconds after the tickets go on sale, and the only recourse is to go the secondary market, where fans must pay exponentially more than face value, which happens even when they can get them directly, due to a battery of mysterious “fees.”Ticketmaster, the largest broker in the business, is at the center of this morass and has been essentially bulletproof for decades — in 1995, Pearl Jam, arguably the biggest band in the world at the time, assailed the high prices and tried to go on a Ticketmaster-less tour, and failed. Even Congress, often led by New Jersey Congressman Bill Pascrell, has gone after the company — and even after the pandemic decimated the touring industry, Ticketmaster remains as strong as ever.

Congress will investigate the Astroworld 2021 tragedy, The Washington Post reports. The investigation will examine the events surrounding the crowd surge that injured hundreds of fans and killed 10 during Travis Scott's headlining performance.

A group of prominent House Democrats are calling for Joe Biden’s administration to investigate the 2010 merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster, arguing that the combination has “strangled competition in live entertainment ticketing and harmed consumers and must be revisited.”

Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., sent a letter Friday urging House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to consider blocking more than 100 Republican lawmakers from taking office because of their support for President Trump's lawsuit challenging the 2020 election results.

The following letter was submitted to Billboard by Ticketmaster President Jared Smith in response to a letter posted on Billboard earlier today by U.S. Reps.

The following letter was submitted to Billboard by U.S. Representatives Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) and Katie Porter (D-CA). Representative Pascrell is the a co-sponsor of the BOSS ACT which would regulate parts of the ticketing business and create greater transparency for consumers.

Fans who purchased tickets to a canceled Live Nation show at one of the company's venues will have a chance to get a full refund or accept a 150% credit toward a new ticket for a future date and part of a newly-announced ticket relief program.