TICKET Act passes U.S. House, but key trade groups want more

The U.S House of Representatives on Tuesday overwhelmingly passed the TICKET Act by a bipartisan vote of 409-15. The bill now heads to the Senate.

TICKET Act passes U.S. House

Some ticket and consumer groups groups are praising the passage of the Transparency in Charges for Key Events Ticketing Act (H.R. 1402). The TICKET Act also passed by similar margins last year, but was never voted on in the Senate.

“The House has once again made clear: consumers deserve transparency and fairness when buying event tickets,” said John Breyault, VP of Public Policy, Telecommunications and Fraud at the National Consumers League.

Live Nation, which owns Ticketmaster, also previously expressed support of the bill.

NIVA and NITO Want More

NIVA and NITO, two influential trade groups whose members have first hand knowledge of how ticket sale and resale works, are calling on the Senate to strengthen the TICKET Act before passage.

NITO (National Independent Talent Organization), the trade group for music booking agents and managers and the thousands of artists they represent issued this statement:

“The Ticket Act that just passed the House does not do nearly enough to protect fans and consumers against bad actors. Vivid Seats spec ticket “seat saver” program is still 100% legal. All-In pricing without itemization means fans won’t know the price the artist sets. Bots will continue to run rampant without stronger enforcement mechanisms.”

“NITO urges the Senate to strengthen this bill prior to passage and we will continue to advocate for stronger protections for our community.”

NIVA (National Independent Venue Association) which represents more than a 1000 U.S. independent live venues, festivals and promoters issued this statement:

“The speculative ticketing ban in the TICKET Act is an important step toward restoring trust in the ticketing market. Artists, independent venues, and promoters fought tirelessly over the last two years to secure this critical protection. Any national ticketing law must truly ban speculative tickets without exception.”

“concierge services should not be a loophole”

“Unfortunately the inclusion of a “concierge service” carveout, as written in the TICKET Act, would undermine the speculative ticket ban. Concierge services should not be a loophole for companies like Vivid Seats to claim they are offering a service while selling “tickets” they don’t possess to unsuspecting fans. States across the country have proven that strong, loophole-free ticketing consumer protections work, and Congress should build on that momentum. The White House Executive Order on Combating Unfair Practices in the Live Entertainment Market also made clear that deceptive practices must be fixed, not rebranded.”

“we support strengthening the law with enhanced penalties and enforcement authority”

“We urge Congress to amend language to make certain that “concierge services” do not empower multi-billion-dollar resale platforms over consumers. Further, we support strengthening the law with enhanced penalties and enforcement authority for state attorneys general to deter bad actors and help ensure the law is being followed. Illegal bot use runs rampant in the ticketing industry because the FTC has only brought one enforcement action since the use of bots was banned in 2016. We hope Congress does not miss the opportunity to ensure these laws are actually enforced in the future.”

“We look forward to working with the Senate to ensure that fans, venues, and artists are prioritized in the final version of the TICKET Act,” said Stephen Parker, NIVA Executive Director.

Bruce Houghton

“TICKET Act passes U.S, House, but key trade groups want more” first appeared on Hypebot.com.