After bipartisan constituents introduced the Transparency in Charges for Key Events Ticketing (TICKET) Act in June 2023, the United States House of Representatives passed the legislation today in the ongoing efforts to reform the ticketing industry.
The bill received a substantial amount of bipartisan support, passing 338-24. This comes after the House of Representatives’ Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously approved the bill 45-0 in Dec. 2023. It will, of course, now need to move through the Senate before President Joe Biden signs it into law, and there is currently no floor vote in place for the measure.
If enacted, the TICKET Act will require ticket sellers to implement simple all-in pricing; ban speculative ticketing, where the seller does not have actual possession of the ticket; ban deceptive websites and website marketing; provide full refunds for any canceled event; offer comparable replacement tickets for any postponed event with buyers’ approval; and require the FTC to issue a report on the BOTS Act Enforcement, which passed in 2016.
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Representatives Jan Schakowsky (IL-09) and Gus Bilirakis (FL-12) introduced the legislation last year “to improve transparency in the entertainment industry by requiring all event ticket sellers to display the total ticket price — including all required fees — in any advertisement, marketing or promotional materials.” It was meant to mirror advertising guidelines for airline tickets and have full transparency throughout the purchasing process.
Schakowsky applauded the House’s passing of the legislation with a post on X (formerly Twitter). “The TICKET Act just passed the House of Representatives! We are so close to protecting consumers from fraudulent tickets, surprise costs, and excessive fees,” she wrote. “I’ll continue to work with my colleagues to urge quick Senate passage so that we can send it to @POTUS ‘ desk!”
The bill’s passing culled support across the industry, including from the Fix the Tix Coalition and the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA). The organizations commended the move and urged the Senate to also support the Fans First Act, which would implement additional provisions to shield ticket buyers from deceptive websites and bots.
“The Fix the Tix Coalition, representing every major constituency of the music and live events industry, applauds the passage of H.R. 3950, the TICKET Act, as an important step towards restoring trust in the ticketing ecosystem,” said Fix the Tix in a statement. “The bill provides transparency with all-in pricing, and takes important steps to combat speculative tickets and deceptive websites. We urge the Senate to build on this progress by strengthening these provisions, increasing enforcement of the BOTS Act and providing additional avenues of enforcement to combat predatory and deceptive ticketing practices. The live entertainment ecosystem is counting on Congress to act in the best interests of fans to restore transparency and trust to our country’s broken ticketing system.”
Live Nation Entertainment also shared a statement on the matter. “Live Nation applauds House lawmakers for advancing the TICKET Act. We’ve led the industry by adopting all-in pricing and support a national law to ensure everyone follows this policy that benefits fans and artists. We also back other ticketing reforms like enhancing anti-bot legislation and banning speculative ticketing and other predatory resale practices. Bipartisan support for these reforms show that protecting fans and artists is in everyone’s interest. We look forward to working with policymakers to make these changes law.”
“Congratulations to Representatives Bilirakis and Schakowsky for achieving this important milestone,” added the Ticket Buyer Bill of Rights Coalition in a statement. “Today marks the furthest federal live event ticketing reform has gone in nearly a decade. We applaud them for their leadership and their willingness to engage all stakeholders, especially consumer protection organizations, in seeking a truly comprehensive reform package which has consensus by virtually every stakeholder in the debate. We urge the Senate to send the TICKET Act to President Biden’s desk as expeditiously as possible.”
CEO of the Recording Academy Harvey Mason Jr. shared in a statement, “Today’s passage of the TICKET Act by the House of Representatives marks a significant step forward toward improving the concert ticket marketplace. The TICKET Act was a key focus of GRAMMYs on the Hill two weeks ago, and the Recording Academy thanks our Congressional leaders for bringing the bill to a vote shortly after meeting with Academy members. We now urge the Senate to act quickly to incorporate the strong provisions contained in the Fans First Act and move a comprehensive ticket reform package that will provide transparency and protect artists and their fans.”
