With Daniel Lippman

LIVE EVENTS INDUSTRY LAUNCHES TICKETING PUSH: Yet another new coalition is jumping into the campaign to nudge Washington into taking action on a variety of reforms to the live events ticketing marketplace. Trade groups representing different cross sections of the entertainment industry from venues to promoters, record labels and artists have formed Fix the Tix, whose goal is to “advocate for a ticketing experience better than the nightmare many fans and artists currently navigate.”

— Members of the alliance include the National Independent Venue Association, which came together during the pandemic to lobby Congress for federal aid to keep concert venues, theaters and comedy clubs alike from going under during the health crisis.

— National Independent Talent Organization, the Recording Academy, the Recording Industry Association of America, the American Association of Independent Music, the Future of Music Coalition, the U.S. Music Managers Forum, See Tickets and about a dozen other industry trade groups are backing the group as well, which has yet to disclose what reforms it will push for.

— Fix the Tix is at least the third new advocacy group spawned by growing calls for ticketing reforms that reached a fever pitch following Ticketmaster’s botched presale last year for Taylor Swift’s ongoing tour. The fiasco brought scrutiny to the ticketing giant’s 2010 merger with Live Nation, which lawmakers have demanded be reevaluated, and sparked a broader dialogue about competition in the ticketing industry that players involved are seeking to capitalize on.

— Stephen Parker, NIVA’s executive director, said in an interview that the coalition and reform push had been in the works for months before the Taylor Swift presale, but that there is undoubtedly new momentum for changes in the aftermath. “It’s unfortunate that it came through … news stories and negative experiences from fans,” he said, adding that the debacle highlighted issues the coalition has dealt with for years.

— “If Taylor Swift didn’t go on tour this year, we would still be working on what we’re doing exactly,” said Audrey Fix Shaefer, a member of NIVA’s board and a spokesperson for D.C. venues like 9:30 Club and The Anthem.

“If Taylor Swift didn’t go on tour this year, we would still be working on what we’re doing exactly,” said Audrey Fix Shaefer, a member of NIVA’s board and a spokesperson for D.C. venues like 9:30 Club and The Anthem.

— Live Nation’s lobbying footprint has swelled as criticism mounted, and has sought to head off moves that could loosen its grip on the industry by issuing its own proposal for ticketing reforms. Live Nation and Ticketmaster are part of an industry coalition launched in March that includes record labels and talent and management agencies, and are calling for many of the same changes. That industry push also includes some members of Fix the Tix, such as the Black Music Action Coalition, Music Artists Coalition, Songwriters of North America, Universal Music Group and Wasserman.

— Meanwhile a dueling campaign by different coalitions of consumer and ticket reseller groups has some overlap with what the industry has called for, but diverges in some key areas like ticket transferability.

— Fix the Tix will seek to focus on the common ground that will benefit both artists and fans, and intends not to take sides in the face off between primary and secondary ticket marketplaces, said Parker, who added that the coalition is serious about enacting reforms, not “messaging bills” or “having a conversation at the federal level that doesn’t go anywhere.”

TGIF and welcome to PI. Send lobbying tips and gossip: [email protected]. And be sure to follow me on Twitter: @caitlinoprysko.

WANTED BY WALL STREET DONORS — A TRUMP FOIL: “Wall Street is firmly in the Never Trump camp. Finding a Republican who can make ‘never’ happen is another question,” POLITICO’s Sam Sutton and Ben White report. “Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had been seen as the top pick to lock down the support of financial titans who have already pumped millions into his state campaigns.”

— “But as he stumbles through gaffes over everything from his personal demeanor and stance on Ukraine to his snacking habits, Wall Street donors are keeping the door open to his competitors, according to more than a dozen bankers, attorneys and political consultants.”

— “Where Wall Street puts its money matters because financial industry executives are among the biggest donors in presidential elections. And while bankers and asset managers generally favor lower taxes and lighter-touch regulation, they also value stability and experience — and they spread their money around to candidates of both parties, meaning they’re very much in play in each cycle.”

— Desantis’ rapidly escalating feud with Disney over Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law has also given some donors pause, and while that could provide an opening for candidates like Nikki Haley and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), they face a different set of hurdles like a lack of name recognition and hailing from safely red states that provide DeSantis allies some relief.

THE LATEST THOMAS BOMBSHELL: The Washington Post’s Emma Brown, Shawn Boburg and Jonathan O’Connell are out with the latest in a string of ethics investigations into Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. According to documents obtained by The Post, conservative judicial activist Leonard Leo arranged for Thomas’ wife “to be paid tens of thousands of dollars for consulting work just over a decade ago, specifying that her name be left off billing paperwork.”

— “In January 2012, Leo instructed the GOP pollster Kellyanne Conway to bill a nonprofit group he advises and use that money to pay Virginia ‘Ginni’ Thomas, the documents show. The same year, the nonprofit, the Judicial Education Project, filed a brief to the Supreme Court in a landmark voting rights case.”

— “Leo, a key figure in a network of nonprofits that has worked to support the nominations of conservative judges, told Conway that he wanted her to ‘give’ Ginni Thomas ‘another $25K,’ the documents show. He emphasized that the paperwork should have ‘No mention of Ginni, of course.’”

— According to the documents, Conway’s Polling Company “paid Thomas’s firm, Liberty Consulting, $80,000 between June 2011 and June 2012, and it expected to pay $20,000 more before the end of 2012. The documents reviewed by The Post do not indicate the precise nature of any work Thomas did for the Judicial Education Project or the Polling Company.”

— “The arrangement reveals that Leo, a longtime Federalist Society leader and friend of the Thomases, has functioned not only as an ideological ally of Clarence Thomas’s but also has worked to provide financial remuneration to his family. And it shows Leo arranging for the money to be drawn from a nonprofit that soon would have an interest before the court.”

IF YOU MISSED IT THURSDAY: “A group of Republican lawmakers is raising concerns about the biggest tech companies’ influence over the new Indo-Pacific trade framework, marking one of the first signs that the concern is bipartisan,” Bloomberg’s Emily Birnbaum reports.

— In a letter to U.S. trade officials on Thursday, lawmakers led by Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance and Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley called on the Biden administration to rebuff tech giants’ efforts to shape the 14-nation Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity.

— “They specifically oppose any language limiting other countries from passing antitrust legislation aimed at paring back the big tech companies’ dominance. ‘The administration must ensure that it does not propose or adopt text in IPEF that binds the United States to competition policies that Congress may soon reject,’ they wrote in the letter, which was reviewed by Bloomberg News. Reps. Ken Buck of Colorado and Matt Gaetz of Florida also signed on.”

— “A growing number of lawmakers are concerned that language in the US proposal related to digital trade could undermine artificial intelligence, privacy and competition regulations. … Democratic lawmakers, including Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, have raised similar issues with the tech industry’s lobbying on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework.”

— The warning from Republicans comes days after Warren’s office released emails “showing US trade officials have solicited the advice of lobbyists for Amazon, Google and other major tech companies to help craft the new trade framework,” the next round of talks for which is set to kick off next week in Singapore.

Jobs Report

— Gabbi Salmon and Emily Kleck have both been promoted to senior associate at the Vogel Group.

— Myron Brilliant is joining Dentons Global Advisors-Albright Stonebridge Group as a senior counselor. He previously was executive vice president and head of international affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

— Andrea Flores will be vice president of immigration policy for FWD.us. She was most recently chief counsel in Sen. Bob Menendez’s (D-N.J.) office and is a Biden White House alum.

— Daniel West is now legislative director for Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.). He previously was legislative assistant and coalitions coordinator at SBA Pro-Life America.

— Craig Segall is joining Evergreen Action as vice president of policy, Morning Energy reports. He most recently served as deputy executive officer of the California Air Resources Board.

— Jack Coness has joined Energy Innovation as a policy analyst on the electrification team, per ME. He previously served as a transportation electrification analyst for the University of Washington and runs a dashboard on Inflation Reduction Act investments.

— Caroline Moore is now a legislative assistant for Sen. Katie Britt(R-Ala.). She previously was a vice president at Rich Feuer Anderson.

New Joint Fundraisers

Chip Roy Victory Fund (Rep. Chip Roy, Come And Take It Political Action Committee, NRCC)
Senate PA & WI (Sens. Bob Casey, Tammy Baldwin)
TEAM ASA, INC. (Asa for America, Inc., ASA PAC, INC.)

New PACs

ASA PAC, INC. (Leadership PAC: Asa Hutchinson)
Coyote PAC (Leadership PAC: Wiley Nickel)
RFKJRPAC (Super PAC)
The Valley Forge Project (Super PAC)

New Lobbying REGISTRATIONS

38 North Solutions, LLC: Eavor Technologies, Inc.
Boundary Stone Partners: Vesta Inc.
Co2Efficient LLC: Renewable Northwest
Cornerstone Government Affairs, Inc.: The Madison Group, LLC Obo Community News Media
Desimone Consulting, LLC: Community-Minded Enterprises
Desimone Consulting, LLC: North Forty Group LLC
Hall, Render, Killian, Heath & Lyman, P.C.: Telix Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Holland & Knight LLP: San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
Masiello, Martucci & Associates Fka Masiello, Martucci, Calabrese & Associates: Artpark
Ms. Lillian Sparks: Ndn Collective
National Insurance Crime Bureau: National Insurance Crime Bureau
National Women’S Health Network: Kristen Batstone
Rich Feuer Anderson: American Exploration And Production Council (Axpc)
Ridge Policy Group: Ecomonic Development Council Of Mason County
Van Scoyoc Associates: El Paso County, Colorado
Vnf Solutions, LLC: Air Products And Chemicals, Inc
Vnf Solutions, LLC: American Shrimp Processors Association
Vnf Solutions, LLC: City Of Ruston
Williams And Jensen, Pllc: Juvenile Products Manufacturing Association

New Lobbying Terminations

Actum I, LLC: Consolidated Safety Services, Inc.
Actum I, LLC: Curators Of The University Of Missouri
Chesapeake Enterprises: Hillwood Investments
Grayrobinson Pa: Etihad Airways Pjsc
Jack Ferguson Assoc., Inc.: Bell Legal Group
Masiello, Martucci & Associates Fka Masiello, Martucci, Calabrese & Associates: Parkview Health Services
Mr. Daniel Weiss: Bell Legal Group
Rock Spring Public Policy: The Protect Democracy Project

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