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 Room and the musician hangout Ice House. Despite the turmoil Minneapolis faced earlier this year with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations and the killing of civilians Renée Good and Alex Pretti, Parker says Minneapolis NIVA members wanted the conference to take place in the city.
“We heard from the community early on, the one thing that the venues and the community leaders wanted more than anything was for people not to abandon them,” Parker says. Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey will welcome attendees to the conference on June 8 at the Pantages Theater.
Other notable speakers at NIVA ‘26 include CAA agent Carly James, The Daily Show comedian Jordan Klepper, as well as musicians Jimmy Jam, Cornbread Harris, Cory Wong of Vulfpeck and The Black Keys’ Patrick Carney.
The main focus, Parker says, will be detailing plans for a more sustainable independent live sector. The conference will discuss what the association and its members are doing to support the cultural infrastructure across the country by lobbying for tax credit programs or live performance funds that can help independent venues and creating more music offices at the city and state levels.
“What can we do to make sure that live performance isn’t just something that politicians and policy makers go to, but something that politicians and policy makers create a seat at the table for at the state and local level, and at the federal level across the country,” Parker says. “Let’s get past the monopoly. Let’s get past the predatory resale and let’s focus on the things that matter which is building the infrastructure that we need for independent venues and festivals and artists and fans to actually be able to connect without all these other things getting in the way.”
