UK bans ticket resales for profit, is the US next?

The UK bans ticket resale tickets for profit following a letter from Dua Lipa, Coldplay, The Cure, Radiohead and others. Is the US next?

In a letter to the UK government Thursday top artists called on the government to “restore faith in the ticketing system” and “democratize public access to the arts.” The UK considered capping resale at 30% above cost, but decided to set the limit at original face value.

The new UK ban means that live music, theater, comedy and sports tickets can only be resold at original cost. Service fees on resale sites like StubHub, viagogo, and Vivid must be minimized.

Those reselling will also be prohibited from offering more tickets than allowed by the original seller. While the allowed fees are yet to be determined, the marketplaces will be held responsible for policing resellers.

Shares of StubHub fell dramatically as news of the regulations spread. The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority also recently announced investigations into StubHub and viagogo over concerns they may be breaking new consumer protection rules.

Will the US limit ticket resale?

Some in the US and EU are calling for similar limits on live music and theater ticket resale. But fewer would extend those limits to sports.

Live Nation and Ticketmaster

Live Nation and Ticketmaster endorsed a 20% ticket resale cap and giving artists more control. Their position was filed with the FTC and DOJ after the two agencies requested public input on “unfair practices in the live entertainment marketplace.”

Live Nation is facing a DOJ demand to break up the company and an FTC suit alleging collusion with resellers. Several collations of consumer have also filed class action lawsuits.

NIVA

NIVA (National Independent Venue Association) is calling on U.S. states follow the UK’s lead paired with strong enforcement against speculative tickets. Speculative or ghost tickets are often listed for sale even the scalper does actually possess them.

“Speculative ticketing turns live events into a gamble that fans never agreed to,” said NIVA Executive Director Stephen Parker “It forces small venues to become the ones delivering the bad news and cleaning up messes created by third-party profiteers. That is not honest commerce, and it is not a healthy free market.”

NITO

“It’s long been clear that the only way to fix inflated resale prices is to remove profit incentives,” said NITO Executive Director Nathaniel Marro. “If it’s all risk and no reward predatory resellers will leave the market and you’ll be left with regular folks who just need to get rid of their tickets.

“This is how resale should work and am very excited that the UK government is taking bold action.” he continued. “(We) also must applaud the hard work and advocacy of Featured Artist Coalition that pushed this through.”

NITO (National Independent Talent Organization) is the trade group for US independent agents, managers and the artists they represent. It endorses artist control of resale including face value price caps. Fees by service providers could be added if kept at 10% or less.

“The ability to resell tickets at increased prices only leads to ticket scalping, whether in an organized fashion or by individual ‘mom and pop’ transactions,” said NITO President Wayne Forte of Entourage Talent Associates. “Resale diverts money away from the artist and in many cases, the promoter taking the risk, while also confusing ticket purchasers who feel the Artists are responsible for that now inflated ticket price.”

Fix The Tix Coalition & New State Laws

The Fix the Tix Coalition which includes NITO and NIVA is working to introduce ticket resale price caps and speculative ticket bans in dozens of states this year.

Maine already passed a tough ticket law with a 10% resale cap, a ban on speculative tickets and increased transparency.

Washington DC is also expected to put price cap of 10% above face value and require anyone selling more than 50 tickets a year to register.

Increasingly other states are eyeing similar laws.

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

“UK bans ticket resales for profit, is the US next?” first appeared on Hypebot.com.