A long-awaited bill to require ticket sellers to display the final price of a ticket is moving to a full vote in the US Senate.
The Transparency in Charges for Key Events Ticketing (TICKET) Act has broad bipartisan support in Congress and the backing of numerous consumer and live event industry groups. Hidden fees and extra charges on tickets are among the key complaints consumers have about the live event industry.
The Senate’s Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee passed the bill on Wednesday, meaning it will now go to a full vote on the Senate floor.
Besides mandating “all-in” ticket pricing, the bill also bans “speculative” ticketing – the practice by some resellers of selling tickets that they themselves haven’t yet bought. And it mandates refund requirements for ticket purchases, with ticket sellers required to refund the full price of a ticket in the event of a cancellation or an equivalent ticket in the event of a delay.
Additionally, the bill bans misleading practices by ticket resellers, such as claiming to be an “official” seller, and instructs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to review enforcement of the 2016 BOTS Act, a law that was supposed to eliminate bots from buying tickets out from under consumers, but seems to have had little effect.
“Consumers deserve fair, transparent, and reliable ticketing practices, and the TICKET Act delivers just that,” said John Breyault, Vice President of Public Policy, Telecommunications, and Fraud at the National Consumers League, one of the groups backing the bill.
“Hidden fees, speculative ticketing, and deceptive marketing practices have plagued the live event industry for far too long, leaving fans frustrated and out of pocket.”
The bill has been bouncing around for more than a year at this point, having been introduced in the House of Representatives in June 2023, and passed by the House in May of last year. However, it didn’t make it through the Senate before the end of the congressional session in 2024.
“Hidden fees, speculative ticketing, and deceptive marketing practices have plagued the live event industry for far too long, leaving fans frustrated and out of pocket.”
John Breyault, National Consumers League
An altered version of the TICKET Act was included in the “continuing resolution” spending bill at the end of 2024. However, consumer groups said this version had been watered down.
The National Independent Venue Association, which organized the “Fix the Tix” coalition campaigning for the law, said that version had “a loophole that allows predatory brokers and resale platforms to sell fake tickets under a different name.” It also said the spending bill didn’t include measures to enforce the BOTS Act.
That “watered-down” version was removed from the spending bill before it was passed.
Recognizing consumers’ frustrations with ticketing, some ticket sellers have moved ahead with “all-in” pricing on their own initiative, choosing not to wait for legislation.
Ticketmaster owner Live Nation announced a US-wide all-in pricing policy in 2023. On an earnings call last year, CEO Michael Rapino said he was “surprised and thrilled” that the company’s unilateral move didn’t hurt its ticket sales, despite Ticketmaster showing higher ticket prices than other sellers who don’t display the all-in price.
“We were always skeptical if we [could] be the one to lead the path, if there was any [reduction in] conversion that would hurt us. But I think consumers are loving the idea [that] they can see [the final price] up front,” Rapino said.
Live Nation said last year that the all-in pricing policy “yielded an 8% increase in completed sales in the first six months the program rolled out.”Music Business Worldwide
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