New York kills ticket resale restrictions

Votes on bills that would put modest new restrictions on New York State ticket resellers have been delayed until at least next year. Instead, an extension of existing ticketing laws thru June 30, 2026 was introduced on Sunday.

New York kills ticket resale restrictions

The original New York Senate ticketing Bill S8221 and Assembly Bill A8659 were introduced by Democratic Representatives Carroll, Kelles, Rosenthal, and Gallagher. In the State Senate, it was introduced by Democratic Senator Skoufis.

The bills would have established refund rights and put strong restrictions on speculative tickets. Also included were some artist controls on resale and a cap on ticket fees in larger venues.

NITO (National Independent Talent Organization) had endorsed the bills as did the Music Artists Coalition. MAC board members include music industry heavyweights Irving Azoff, Coran Capshaw, Ali Harnell, John Silva, Don Henley, and others.

“This was a chance to put New York fans first, and instead, they protected profiteers exploiting the system.”

“It’s deeply disappointing that the New York State Legislature is not moving forward with Assembly Bill A8659 and Senate Bill S8221. Senator Skoufis and Assemblymember Kim fought tirelessly for a bill that would have protected fans — not scalpers — by capping predatory fees, banning speculative ticket listings, and giving artists more control over how their tickets are resold,” music manager and ticketing reform advocate Randy Nichols said in a statement. “Unfortunately, legislative leadership caved to pressure from the powerful, private equity-backed, multi-billion dollar ticket scalping industry and their well-funded lobbyists. This was a chance to put New York fans first, and instead, they protected profiteers exploiting the system. We hope to return next session and work to educate leadership — just as we did with Skoufis and Kim — so they can better understand the problem and the urgent need to protect fans, not scalpers.”

The Coalition For Ticket Fairness, which represent resellers, declared victory, for now. “The one-year extension leaves the door open for another attempt to push harmful amendments into law.” said the CTF in a statement. “We fully expect this issue to return next year — and we’ll be ready.”

Bruce Houghton is the Founder and Editor of Hypebot, a Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, a Berklee College Of Music professor and founder of the Skyline Artists Agency

“New York kills ticket resale restrictions” first appeared on Hypebot.com.