On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would impose at least some liability on Ticketmaster and other live event vendors. nbc news The TICKETS Act (not to be confused with a separate Senate bill) would reportedly require ticket sellers to pre-list the total cost of admission (including all fees) to buyers.
In addition to a full pricing breakdown, the bill also requires sellers to indicate whether tickets are currently in their possession. It would also ban deceptive websites from second-tier vendors and force sellers to refund tickets for canceled events. The bill does not appear to address price gouging or overcharging.
The bill now heads to the Senate, which is introducing two separate tournament reform bills: another Ticket Act and a bipartisan Fans First Act. The latter was launched in December to strengthen the 2016 BOTS Act, which bans the use of bots to buy tickets, a practice that Taylor Swift fans (among others) can attest is still very common.
In the wake of the Taylor Swift fiasco at Ticketmaster, ticketing industry reform has become a political point-scoring item in late 2022. The Live Nation-owned service had a strong presence in the industry but collapsed as millions of fans battled “an incredible number” of bots. Ticketmaster said the presale code reached 1.5 million fans, but 14 million fans (including those pesky bots) tried to buy tickets.
Live Nation President and Treasurer Joe Berchtold testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in January 2023 that he essentially put the responsibility on Congress to fix the mess. He suggested the administration strengthen the BOTS Act, which a Senate bill would attempt to do. At the hearing, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., accused executives of avoiding responsibility and accused the company of pointing the finger at everyone but itself.
Reps. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.), Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Kathy McMorris Rogers (R-WA) and Frank Pallone Jr. (R-W.A.) New Jersey Democrats) released a joint statement on Wednesday regarding the House’s TICKET Act. “This consensus legislation will end deceptive ticketing practices that frustrate consumers who just want to enjoy a concert, show, or sporting event by restoring fairness and transparency to the ticket market,” the group wrote. After years of bipartisanship, we will now be able to enhance the customer experience for purchasing event tickets online, and we look forward to continuing to work together to urge the Senate to pass it quickly so we can send it to the President’s desk to be signed into law.
Artists who have publicly supported failed legislation to crack down on the ticketing industry include Billie Eilish, Lorde, Green Day, Cyndi Lauper, Jason Mraz and Dave Matthews. “We unite to say that the current system is broken: predatory dealers and secondary platforms engage in deceptive ticketing practices that inflate ticket prices and deny fans the opportunity to see their favorite artists at fair prices,” ” Read by 250 musicians.
