In today’s CMU Daily: Live Nation has welcomed a new law in Massachusetts that restricts the resale of tickets, despite some consumer rights groups criticising the move. Meanwhile in Spain, the City Council in Barcelona has signed an official declaration pledging to fight against “illegal ticket resale” 

Also today: The very public feud between the co-founder and former CEO of K-pop label Ador and its parent company HYBE continues, with Min Hee-jin resigning from the label’s board and publishing a scathing resignation letter. She also promises legal action against her former business partners

Plus: AEG is looking to resume a legal battle with Young Thug now that the rapper is out of jail. It previously sued over a breached contract and unreturned $5 million advance. AEG says that advance is secured on the rapper’s copyrights and it’s currently working out who is in control of those rights

Approved: L-Vis 1990

Massachusetts hobbles touts as Barcelona pledges to combat “illegal resale” of tickets

Live Nation has responded to criticism of a new law introduced by the state of Massachusetts that restricts the resale of tickets, insisting that it will help reduce unscrupulous behaviour by touts and scalpers. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, Barcelona City Council has signed an official declaration setting out its commitment to fight against illegal ticket resale. 

The way ticket touting is regulated varies greatly around the world and, in some countries, even from state to state. In the US, most regulation is at a state-level, with almost polar opposites in approach. Some states - including California and Rhode Island - legislate against the unofficial resale of tickets for profit, while others - such as Colorado and Virginia - actually protect the rights of resellers.

Massachusetts has just passed legislation which, according to CBS News, allows primary ticket sellers to restrict resale to their own platforms. So, if you buy a ticket to an event on Ticketmaster, you can only resell it via Ticketmaster, providing the primary ticketing platform communicates this restriction upfront. 

This move will give the primary platforms - and their promoter clients - more control over the resale of their tickets, putting a cap on resale mark-ups if they so wish - something that Live Nation boss Michael Rapino talked about recently - and making it easier to monitor and block industrial level touts. 

Many consumer rights groups campaign for tighter regulation of ticket touting, arguing that secondary ticketing results in prices for in-demand shows surging as bots operated by touts flood ticketing platforms, buying up tickets only for resale, putting regular consumers at a disadvantage.

However, there are also groups that say restrictions on people reselling tickets are unfair...

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Min Hee-jin resigns from Ador alleging “numerous illegal activities” at HYBE 

K-pop executive Min Hee-jin has resigned as a director of Ador, the label she co-founded with HYBE, while also vowing to “take necessary legal actions one-by-one against the numerous illegal activities of HYBE and its associates”. 

The resignation came as South Korea’s Ministry Of Employment And Labor closed an investigation into allegations that Ador-signed NewJeans were victims of workplace bullying on the basis that the band’s members are not employees of their label. 

In a scathing letter announcing her resignation from the Ador board, Min claims that “HYBE’s atrocities in 2024 will be recorded as an unprecedented case in K-pop history”.

Min has been an outspoken critic of HYBE ever since the company made it clear that it wanted her out as CEO of Ador. Those problems began, says Min, only after she sent two formal “internal whistleblowing emails” in April raising concerns about the conduct of other HYBE execs and subsidiaries, and HYBE began an internal audit into her own conduct. 

After she was pushed out of her CEO role in August, Ador and HYBE hoped Min would stay on in a creative role leading recording and touring projects for NewJeans. She immediately rejected that proposal and insisted she wanted the CEO job back. 

She had hoped, she says in her letter, that “HYBE would admit their mistakes”. However, “far from showing remorse”, she continues, HYBE “committed the unprecedented folly of fabricating baseless falsehoods and even publicly displaying a shameful illegal audit”. 

In September, after the Ador board reappointed Min as a director of the label...

AEG keen to reignite Young Thug breach of contract case, but needs time to do more copyright investigations

Following Young Thug’s recent release from prison, AEG is keen to reignite its legal battle with the rapper in relation to an allegedly breached 2017 contract and the $5 million advance that came with it. 

A lawsuit filed by the live music company in 2020 claimed that Young Thug, real name Jeffery Williams, had broken the terms of a 2017 deal which saw AEG advance him $5 million in order to secure exclusive rights in relation to his live shows. 

AEG alleged that Williams “immediately failed and refused to honour” that deal, proceeding to work with other promoters on shows and, once in breach, failing to return the advance. 

That lawsuit was hindered somewhat when Williams was arrested in May 2022 and immediately denied bail. But last month he was freed from jail after pleading guilty to gang, drug and gun charges, and being handed a sentence of time served with fifteen years probation.

In a new court filing, AEG says, “Proceedings in this action have been hampered for more than two years by reason of Mr Williams’ incarceration. So long as Mr Williams does not violate the terms of his probation, his criminal proceedings should no longer affect the parties’ ability” to complete the discovery phase of this litigation and “bring the case to trial”.

🎧 Approved: L-Vis 1990

As co-founder of the iconic Night Slugs label, L-Vis 1990 (aka James Connolly) has helped redefine UK club sounds, bridging hyper-local scenes and global movements. From Girl Unit’s ‘Wut’ to his own ‘Ballads’ EP, his work has left an indelible mark on dance music. 

“I never overlooked the cultural significance of what we were doing”, Connolly says of his Night Slugs legacy. “We set the blueprint and that impact is still felt today.” 

But after six years away from the L-Vis 1990 alias, Connolly is back with new energy - and a renewed mission to champion the culture that shaped him.

His new single ‘Good Vibes’ features Newham’s MC Eklipse and serves as the first taste of their upcoming joint EP, ‘Renegade’, due 17 Jan. The track is classic L-Vis: heavy bass, low-end pressure and that grimey edge that cuts through. It’s made to rattle sound systems, with MC Eklipse’s rumbley vocals almost vibrating with the bass of the track.

Inspired by a transformative trip to Notting Hill Carnival and a desire to give back to grassroots UK club culture, the upcoming EP blends Connolly’s boundary-pushing ethos with fresh collaborations, including work with rising voices like Tia Talks, Jianbo and Jayhadadream.

With ‘Good Vibes’ out now and ambitious plans for the year ahead, L-Vis 1990 isn’t just revisiting his roots - he’s building on them, spotlighting urgent UK voices and evolving the sound of the dancefloor.

🎧Watch the video for ‘Good Vibes’ here