'Taylor Swift Act' and other efforts target sky-high concert ticket
prices
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 [April 25, 2024]
By Lisa Richwine
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Taylor Swift concert ticket debacle two
years ago is leading state and federal lawmakers to take aim at sales
practices that they say are deceptive or predatory to music fans.
A main goal of venues and musicians is to outlaw speculative sales when
a seller offers a ticket they do not yet have. In some cases, they ask
thousands of dollars for a ticket that they can buy later from the
primary seller for $200 or less and reap the profit.
In Maryland, a new law will make speculative ticket sales illegal
starting July 1.
"This is a huge first step," said Audrey Fix Schaefer, communications
director for I.M.P., the company that operates Maryland's Merriweather
Post Pavilion and other venues that often receive complaints if
consumers pay high prices or fail to receive promised tickets.
Arizona recently cleared similar legislation and nicknamed the measure
the "Taylor Swift Act." When fans were unable to snag Eras Tour tickets
through Ticketmaster, many paid thousands to buy them through resellers,
also known as secondary sellers, or were tricked by sites selling fake
tickets.
Swift has not commented on the ticketing proposals, and a representative
for the singer did not respond to a request for comment.
Nationwide, bills have been introduced in two dozen states to address
event ticketing practices, according to the National Conference of State
Legislatures.
In Illinois, a ban on speculative tickets has passed the state Senate.
The Colorado House has cleared legislation to require more pricing
transparency and a ban on websites designed to mimic legitimate ticket
sales sites, which may trick consumers into thinking they are buying
directly from a venue.
At the same time, venues and the world's biggest musicians are pushing
for federal reforms.
Companies including Ticketmaster and SeatGeek committed to greater
transparency, known as "all-in" or "upfront" pricing of a ticket's cost
with fees from the beginning, at a White House event last summer with
President Joe Biden, part of his effort to crack down on what he called
"junk fees" imposed by ticket companies, banks, airlines and others.
"There's more to do to address the problem of online ticketing," Biden
said at the time.
ARTISTS BACK FEDERAL BILL
On Thursday, 250 artists including Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell,
Green Day and Fall Out Boy voiced support for the Fans First Act, a bill
pending in the U.S. Senate. No votes on the measure have been scheduled.
The legislation would prevent speculative ticket sales when a seller
does not have a ticket. It also would require "all-in" pricing, outlaw
deceptive websites and strengthen enforcement of penalties for bot usage
to scoop up tickets.
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Singer Taylor Swift performs at her concert for the international
"The Eras Tour" in Tokyo, Japan February 7, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/File
Photo
 "We are joining together to say that
the current system is broken," the artists said in a letter to
congressional sponsors of the legislation. "Predatory resellers and
secondary platforms engage in deceptive ticketing practices to
inflate ticket prices and deprive fans of the chance to see their
favorite artists at a fair price."
So-called spec tickets often are advertised with warnings such as
"only 4 left!," falsely suggesting to consumers that they should buy
immediately or miss out. In some cases, actual tickets never turn up
or brokers send fraudulent tickets.
Ticket-selling platforms said they supported some of the proposed
legislative changes.
Ticketmaster, a unit of Live Nation Entertainment that sells primary
and secondary tickets, said it backed bans on speculative sales and
deceptive websites, as well as better enforcement of anti-bot
legislation.
StubHub "does not allow the sale of speculative tickets, and sellers
found to be in breach of our seller policy face consequences such as
fines and removal from the platform," a company spokesperson said.
If a buyer has an issue, "StubHub will find an equivalent or better
ticket to get a buyer into an event, or provide a full refund."
The company said it supports U.S. House and Senate versions of a
bill called the Ticket Act. The House version would outlaw
speculative ticketing, among other practices, while the Senate
measure calls for all-in pricing.
Venues and artist groups have formed a coalition called Fix the Tix,
led by the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), that is
pushing for passage of the Fans First Act, which they say offers the
strongest protections for ticket buyers.
Stephen Parker, executive director of NIVA, said that bill is "the
most fan- and artist-friendly ticketing legislation that Congress
has ever introduced."
"It makes illegal the abusive, predatory behaviour from predatory
resale platforms and ticket brokers," he said, and also calls for a
national evaluation of the ticket resale market.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Mary Milliken and Diane
Craft)
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