A frustrating ticket-buying experience by the niece of California state Sen. Scott Wilk has led to the introduction of a new bill rushing through the California legislature.

And no, it wasn’t Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour” that inspired it.

It was actually the ticket-buying experience for a minor-league hockey game that could lead to a large legislative setback for Live Nation Entertainment.

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He might be on to something — Pat Garafolo, the director of state and local policy at the American Economic Liberties Project and who helped draft Wilk’s bill, said he’s spoken with legislators in other states about possibly introducing similar legislation.

The extent of Live Nation Entertainment’s grasp
In June, the American Economic Liberties Project released a report detailing the extent of the stranglehold Live Nation Entertainment has on the live events industry.

The report, made using proprietary data collected by senior policy analyst Krista Brown, found that 78% of the highest-grossing arenas in the United States use ticketing services provided by Ticketmaster.

In addition to arenas, the report documented that Live Nation Entertainment is connected to the majority of the highest-grossing amphitheaters in the country, with 64% of them operate using Ticketmaster’s services.

Brown explained to Insider that Live Nation Entertainment has been able to become so powerful in the industry as it’s vertically integrated very effectively.

As she explained, Live Nation Entertainment is a combination of a ticketing service, a concert promoter, and an artist management company.

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