U.S. House Passes TICKET Act Calling for Better Pricing Transparency

The United States House of Representatives passed the Transparency in Charges for Key Events Ticketing (TICKET) Act yesterday (May 15), marking a key step in the bill’s journey to becoming a law. A summary of the bill, written by the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress, reads as follows:

This bill requires ticket sellers (including sellers on the secondary market) for concerts, performances, sporting events, and similar activities to clearly and prominently disclose at the beginning of the transaction, and prior to the selection of a ticket, the total ticket price for the event and an itemized list of the base ticket price and each fee (e.g., service fee, processing fee, delivery fee, facility charge fee, tax, or other charge). The total ticket price must also be disclosed in any advertisement, marketing, or price list. Currently, ticket sellers generally disclose fees at the checkout stage.

Additionally, ticket sellers that are offering to sell a ticket that the seller does not have in their actual or constructive possession must clearly and prominently disclose that the ticket is not in their possession before an individual selects a ticket to purchase.

The Federal Trade Commission must enforce these requirements.

Representatives Jan Schakowsky, an Illinois Democrat, and Gus Bilirakis, a Florida Republican, introduced the TICKET Act in June 2023. Later in the year, Senators Amy Klobuchar and John Cornyn introduced the Fans First Act, which also calls for more disclosure about ticket sales. The bill is awaiting a Senate vote.

The TICKET Act has bipartisan support, as well as support from independent groups such as the Fix the Tix Coalition and National Independent Venue Association (NIVA). In a statement shared with Pitchfork, the Fix the Tix Coalition said, “The bill provides transparency with all-in pricing, and takes important steps to combat speculative tickets and deceptive websites.” The group continued, “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.”

NIVA’s executive director, Stephen Parker, added, “We commend House passage of H.R. 3950, the TICKET Act, which will help to improve the ticket buying experience for fans, to protect the livelihoods of artists, and to preserve independent venues across the nation.”

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