Urgent Year-End Policy Action and Updates

December 17, 2024

In This Issue

• Update! FTC Announces New Ticket Sales Rules and Congress Considers Action
• Make Plans to Engage with Congress in 2025
• Charitable Giving and Tax Reform
• Act Now: How Well Do You Know Your Bow?
• NEA Grant Guidelines for FY2026: Prepare Now
• International Artists Visa Assistance

Update! FTC Announces New Ticket Sales Rules and Congress Considers Action

Today, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced new national rules for marketing and sales of live-event tickets and short-term lodging, following scrutiny of hidden fees. The core content of the rules begins on page 309 of the full rulemaking announcement. The final rules go into effect in April 2025 and will require sellers to: clearly communicate the total price of items for sale where prices are displayed and advertised; accurately represent the nature, purpose, and amount of fees that are charged; and clearly disclose the final amount of payment for the transaction. The League has been keeping orchestras informed as these rules took shape and weighed in with the FTC alongside coalition partners. We are continuing to analyze the new rules and awaiting the FTC’s planned compliance guide. More details are available in our Ticketing Policy Overview.

Meanwhile, ongoing advocacy to Congress is needed today. The new FTC rules do not address urgent concerns with fraudulent activity on the secondary ticket market. As Congress considers a continuing resolution to keep government funding running past December 2024, a weakened version of ticketing legislation is proposed for inclusion, which would not provide the full protections needed. Please continue to contact Congress to urge national policy leaders to take comprehensive action to address ticket fraud.

Make Plans to Engage with Congress in 2025

Now that the election results are fully in and the U.S. House and Senate have posted their Congressional calendars for 2025, the League has updated our Calendar of Opportunities to help orchestra advocates plan out a full year of engaging with policymakers. Please take a look at the dates when your elected officials will be home and some sample actions that you can take. If you haven’t done this before, the ideal initial contact is simply a hello and introduction!

Charitable Giving and Tax Reform

This season of essential year-end charitable contributions illustrates how tax incentives influence how much and when donors give. As comprehensive tax reform will be one of the top legislative priorities of the new Congress and Administration, the League is partnering with the National Council of Nonprofits and Independent Sector, alongside our fellow nonprofits in health and human services, social services, and other arts disciplines, to act on policies that will impact charitable giving and nonprofit tax policies. When it comes to building political support for charitable giving provisions, constituent communications are especially important for providing a face and name to policies that directly impact a broader set of constituents that politicians care about. The League has a year-round e-campaign available for anyone to contact elected officials to urge support to strengthen and expand charitable giving, and we will continue to reach out to orchestras that are especially well-placed in districts and states of members of Congress who will be assigned to the tax writing committees when the new session of Congress begins.

Act Now: How Well Do You Know Your Bow?

Bows for stringed instruments are essential tools, uniquely impacted by international protected species rules and conservation efforts that are constantly changing. Help spread the word about immediate action musicians can take to understand and document the material used in each bow. The League of American Orchestras, in partnership with the American Federation of Musician and international music sector partners, released Know Your Bow: Tips for Owners and Users of Pernambuco Bows to offer essential information on the sustainability of the Brazilian wood used in most professional and advanced student bows for stringed instruments. Every bow owner is advised to take voluntary actions now to document basic facts about the wood used in their bows and to be informed partners in the wider conservation effort. 

NEA Grant Guidelines for FY2026: Prepare Now

The National Endowment for the Arts has just posted the latest updates to guidelines for Grants for Arts Projects (GAP) and Challenge America, along with application deadlines. The League of American Orchestras highlights important changes and reminders in a set of tips prepared for orchestra applicants. While the first cycle of Grants for Arts Projects has a due date in mid-February, there are three registrations that must be up to date and these can take several weeks to process. Any applicant considering submitting a project for GAP1 consideration should act soon to ensure that logins are current and active for Login.gov, Sam.gov, and Grants.gov. Remember also that these are FREE registrations, so be wary about emails that solicit payment.

International Artists Visa Assistance

Arts advocates are in ongoing dialogue with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) about procedural challenges and delays in the U.S. visa petition process for artists. USCIS has recently acknowledged significant disparities in processing when petitions are sent on from the Texas USCIS Center to be adjudicated by the California or Vermont Service Centers, and it greatly helps our advocacy when we are aware of recent experiences that illustrate where things are going well or poorly. Take note of these League resources:

– General help and timely news/processing reminders are always available via the Artists from Abroad website, which the League maintains. For anyone who hasn’t filed a guest artist petition recently, you may wish to start with this news update. 

– The League’s D.C. team is here to help! Member orchestras may request a peer letter of support that can accompany your petition (not to be substituted for the required labor consultation advisory opinion), and this includes a petition review to have a second set of eyes on your assembled materials. Many of you have found this helpful and we’re eager to make sure our field is as well-prepared as possible and get solid petitions out the door with plenty of time. 

– The changing landscape in the new year could result in even greater visa processing delays both at USCIS and at U.S. consulates abroad. O and P guest artist petitions can be filed up to one year in advance of an engagement, so if you are able to get this far ahead in the planning process, please do so to try to avoid the need to upgrade a regularly-filed petition to the costly Premium Processing Service.

Whether or not you seek our assistance, please send an email to us about your experiences – good, bad, and uncertain. The earlier we hear from you the better!