We’re within the fourth quarter of the 118th Congress and the clock is ticking quick. There are only some extra legislative days for Congress to move dozens of payments earlier than this session concludes and the subsequent Congress should begin drafting payments from scratch. One such invoice is HR 3950, the Transparency In Prices for Key Occasions Ticketing Act (TICKET Act). It might repair points which have bedeviled the reside occasion trade for many years. It might require all-in pricing of tickets, ban speculative ticketing, prohibit misleading web sites, require refunds for canceled or postponed exhibits, and require the Federal Commerce Fee to report on the prevalence of bots getting used to buy tickets.
This invoice has been two years within the making. The Senate Judiciary Committee held the primary listening to of the 118th Congress in January 2023, following the meltdown of Ticketmaster’s system when tickets to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour went on sale. The listening to highlighted many well-known issues within the trade. Since then, members of Congress have launched greater than a half-dozen ticketing-related payments to handle these issues. Nonetheless, just one invoice has risen to the highest: the TICKET Act (HR 3950).
The bipartisan TICKET Act, launched by Reps. Jan Schakowsky and Gus Bilirakis unanimously handed the Home Power and Commerce Committee, acquired the endorsement of nearly each reside occasion stakeholder concerned within the coverage debate, after which handed the Home 388-24 by a wider margin than the latest persevering with decision acquired. The TICKET Act is much more well-liked than funding our authorities.
Client safety teams known as the invoice, “a very complete reform bundle.” The Recording Academy stated it was “a big step ahead towards bettering the live performance ticket market. The Coalition for Ticket Equity stated that “[b]y empowering customers, this invoice will assist result in a greater ticket shopping for expertise and a more healthy market.” And, the Repair the Tix Coalition, made up of artists and unbiased venues stated the TICKET Act was “essentially the most complete protections for artists and followers in ticketing that we’ve got seen in years.”
The invoice has common help—so why is it languishing within the Senate? Legislative inertia and good old style Senate politics are partly accountable, however monopoly-aligned particular pursuits within the trade are additionally searching for to gum up the works, hoping to get their most well-liked payments handed, even when these payments don’t have consensus help. If the TICKET Act passes this Congress, followers may see all-in pricing for tickets to music festivals, baseball video games, and theater productions as quickly as subsequent summer season. As an alternative, what ought to be a straightforward invoice to move in a traditionally unproductive Congress is in peril of turning into a case examine within the folly of letting the proper be the enemy of the general public good.
Congress is operating out of time to do one thing good for followers who’ve suffered lengthy sufficient with complicated procuring experiences, out-of-control charges, and misleading resale practices. An omnibus invoice on the finish of the 12 months is the final legislative automobile that the TICKET Act can trip to President Joe Biden’s desk. It’d simply be the final alternative to provide followers, venues, artists, and shopper advocates what they’ve been asking for the final two years: a complete shopper safety bundle for reside event-goers. The clock is ticking. This invoice ought to be a layup. It’s time for Congress to place it within the bucket.
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