Leadership / 08.08.19
N.J. Congressman Calls for Regulations on Ticket Sales: 'This Market Has to Change'
Access Staff
MSN (08/04/19) Dougherty, Mike
Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-N.J.) has petitioned for event ticketing safeguards that include transparent upfront pricing, the elimination of convenience fees, and a crackdown on secondary market practices that lock out regular fans from purchasing tickets. "Live Nation operates with impunity," Pascrell said, referring to the news that Live Nation and promoters for the band Metallica sold tickets on the secondary market that were never made available to the public at face value. The lawmaker said agreements between venues, promoters and ticket sellers prioritize consumers last, while bots that bulk-buy tickets in seconds are endemic. "This market has to change," Pascrell argued. Live Nation contended the secondary market serves as a sales distribution channel for select high-end tickets in order to prevent exploitation by scalpers. Pascrell has proposed legislation requiring the Federal Trade Commission to mandate that ticket sellers make specified disclosures to purchasers. The bill also would require sellers to specify ancillary charges in refunds to purchasers, ban primary ticket sellers from restricting the ability of a purchaser to resell tickets, and block certain secondary ticket sales by employees of entities that host, promote, perform in or sell event tickets to events. Finally, the measure would bar secondary ticket sales for the same seats to multiple parties simultaneously.
Read the full article on MSN.
Tags: Reselling , Regulations , News , Leadership