You've felt it.

The $9.50 "facility fee." The $14 "order processing charge." The ticket that listed for $45 showing up on a resale site for $180 — controlled by the same company that sold it to you the first time.

This isn't a glitch. It's a system. And right now, a federal court in New York is deciding whether that system gets to stay.

We filed in that case.

The Live Events Standards Council is the only non-industry-funded standards body in the United States to submit to the SDNY proceedings in U.S. v. Live Nation — the landmark antitrust case brought by the Department of Justice against the world's largest live entertainment monopoly.

We take no money from ticketing platforms. No money from venue operators. No money from anyone with a financial stake in the outcome of this case. That independence isn't a policy — it's the architecture. The moment we take their money, we become them.

What we're building

LESC created Front Row Certified — six auditable, measurable standards that any venue, ticketing platform, or promoter can adopt to prove they're operating in the public interest:

— Price transparency: all fees disclosed before checkout, not revealed at the end — Bot protection: verified technology standards, not promises — Artist autonomy: performers control their own ticket policies — Non-exclusive ticketing: no forced platform lock-in — Fan-first resale: resale that protects buyers, not scalpers — Accessible grievance process: a real path to resolution when something goes wrong

Certification is earned through independent audit. It cannot be purchased. A venue that pays and fails gets denied — and that denial is public.

Why this moment is the moment

The DOJ consent decree was filed March 9, 2026 — the same day LESC launched. That was not coincidence. The decree opens the market. It does not mandate how that market treats people. No all-in pricing requirement. No bot protection standard. No artist autonomy clause. Twenty-seven state attorneys general refused to sign it and called it insufficient. They were right.

The window to set the standards for this new market is open right now — before the new norms calcify without accountability built in. We are building the watchdog. We are writing the standard. We are doing it in public, with no hidden funders and no industry strings.

What your donation funds

Every dollar goes directly to:

— Legal costs for our pro se SDNY intervention and ongoing court monitoring — Attorney General outreach and follow-up across 28+ jurisdictions — Front Row Certified audit infrastructure — Investigative reporting through Dismal Freedom Press on platform non-compliance — Coalition expansion across fan, artist, and civic communities

We are lean and independent. Your $25 moves the needle here in a way it never would inside a lobbying firm or trade association.

Who we are

We are journalists, organizers, artists, and advocates who got tired of waiting for someone else to do this. We are not a trade association. We are not a PAC. We are not backed by anyone who profits from the status quo.

We are the independent accountability layer the settlement forgot — and we are asking you to fund it.

Every contribution before we reach $5,000 is a founding contribution. Your name goes into the record of this effort at its most critical early moment.

Sign the petition: change.org/live-events Questions: · liveeventscouncil.org

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