NIVA ’26 Conference to Focus on Live Music in a ‘Post Monopoly World’
Categoria: Musica
The fifth annual conference hosted by the National Independent Venue Association will take place from June 7-10 in Minneapolis.
Por Billboard | 04/06/2026
In recent years, the National Independent Venue Association’s advocacy efforts have been focused on the Department of Justice’s monopoly case against Live Nation, which resulted in a jury finding that the company illegally monopolized the market for ticketing services and the use of amphitheaters. In April, it also found that Live Nation illegally tied the use of its venues to its concert promotion services. Now, as the association heads into its fifth annual conference , NIVA executive director Stephen Parker says the association is turning its attention to ticketing resale caps and building a more stable future for independent venues and promoters. “This conference is more about our vision for what live entertainment looks like in a post-monopoly world. My hope is that our NIVA members are able to articulate what that vision should be,” Parker tells Billboard of the NIVA ‘26 gathering that will take place June 7-10 at various independent venues in Minneapolis. “We have been working towards a future that’s better, not just working to make sure that one company is help accountable.” The four-day conference will kick off with a Sunday night opening party in celebration of Prince, who was a frequent performer and visitor of renowned indie venue First Avenue , where the opening party will take place. From there, NIVA will address the attendees on the current “state of live,” followed by panels on everything from marketing, ticketing platforms, food and beverage strategies, dealing with the growing number of performing rights organizations and the resale cap legislation that is being introduced across the country. As of June 2026, 20 states across the U.S. have introduced legislation that would cap the price of concert tickets on secondary ticketing platforms like StubHub, SeatGeek and more. The wave of bills comes as fans are feeling gauged by sky-high ticket prices, while the price of a night out also continues rising. “There’s not a single state that introduced a resale price cap this year that we went to and said, ‘Please introduce this legislation.’ In some cases, we just saw it drop,” says Parker. “The fact is, this has been such an organic movement, a bipartisan organic movement, to see a problem and see a solution and work towards that solution.” Maine and Vermont are the only two states that have signed resale cap legislation into law, while states including New York and California have similar laws up for consideration. “We’re going to talk about all the dollars that have been spent to defeat this legislation and how we have spent very little getting a couple of these passed in the last year,” Parker says. “We’re gonna talk about how this is basically artists, fans and everybody who actually is in the live entertainment industry against scalpers.” The conference will take place across what Parker calls an “incredible indie venue scene” in Minneapolis including First Ave and 7th Street Entry, storied Jazz club The Dakota, new space Green Roo