Original article published on Pollstar (08/29/18) by Ryan Borba

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Aug. 24 signed a bill into law eliminating a 10-year-old restriction on how many tickets can be held before going on sale to the public, which currently stands at 5 percent. According to him, this puts the state at "a competitive disadvantage with our neighboring states" that lack caps. Murphy also said the ordinance will make New Jersey more competitive in drawing top-flight talent, and it features consumer-friendly provisions, including a mandate that ticket resellers offer refunds if an event is canceled. The New Jersey Ticket Brokers Association and the National Association of Ticket Brokers have denigrated the law as detrimental to consumers. "This Ticketmaster bill was designed to hand virtually total monopolistic power to a few mega corporations while sticking it to the everyday fan," said the association's Gary Adler. He called the bill a waste of taxpayers' time "as they bestow new powers on venues and Ticketmaster to reach deeper into the wallets of hardworking consumers whose only fault is their love for live events."

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