The US House of Representatives passes the TICKETS Act to enforce price transparency at events

On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives passed bill that could provide at least some accountability for Ticketmaster and other live event providers. NBC News reports The TICKETS Act (not to be confused with the Senate separate account with the same tentative acronym) will require ticket sellers to list the total price of admission — including all fees — to buyers in advance.

In addition to a full price breakdown, the bill would require sellers to indicate whether the tickets are currently in their possession. It will also ban fraudulent websites from secondary suppliers and force sellers to refund tickets for canceled events. The bill does not appear to address price gouging or extravagant fees.

It now moves to the Senate, which is proposing two separate bills to reform the event: the other TICKETS Act and a bipartisan Fans First Act. The latter was introduced in December to reinforce the 2016 BOTS Act, which banned the use of bots to buy tickets, a practice that fans of Taylor Swift (among others) can attest is still all too common .

Reforming the ticketing industry has become a political point-scoring point in late 2022 following the Taylor Swift Ticketmaster fiasco. The Live Nation-owned service, which has a stronghold in the industry, melted down as millions of fans battled a “staggering number” of bots. Ticketmaster said the presale codes reached 1.5 million fans, but 14 million (including those pesky bots) tried to buy tickets.

Live Nation President and CFO Joe Berchtold testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee in January 2023, where he largely shifted the onus on Congress to fix the mess. He proposed that the government strengthen the BOTS Act, which one of the Senate bills would try to do. During the hearing, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) blasted the executive for avoiding blame, accusing the company of pointing fingers at everyone but itself.

Reps. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Cathy McMorris Rogers (R-WA) and Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ) issued a joint statement Wednesday on the House TICKET Act. “This consensus legislation will end fraudulent ticketing practices that frustrate consumers who simply want to enjoy a concert, show or sporting event by restoring fairness and transparency to the ticketing market,” the group wrote. “After years of bipartisan work, we will now be able to improve the customer experience of buying event tickets online. We look forward to continuing to work together to push for swift Senate passage so we can send it to the president’s desk to be signed into law.”

Artists in public supportive legislation to combat the failings of the ticketing industry include (among others) Billie Eilish, Lorde, Green Day, Cyndi Lauper, Jason Mraz and Dave Matthews. “We unite to say that the current system is broken: predatory distributors and secondary platforms engage in fraudulent ticketing practices to inflate ticket prices and deprive fans of the chance to see their favorite artists at a fair price” , a joint letter from over 250 musicians reads.