Over 250 artists are imploring the Senate Committee on Commerce to consider a new bill that advocates for ticket sale transparency and safeguards consumers from bots.
Among those artists who have signed a letter in support of the legislation are Billie Eilish, Lorde, Fall Out Boy, Dave Matthews, Cyndi Lauper, Sia, and Green Day. Called the Fans First Act, the bill speaks to the current state of the live event ticketing system. According to the letter, the structure, as it stands, subjects fans and artists to the underhanded side of the secondary ticketing market.
“As artists and members of the music community, we rely on touring for our livelihood, and we value music fans above all else,” the letter reads. “We are joining together to say that the current system is broken: predatory resellers and secondary platforms engage in deceptive ticketing practices to inflate ticket prices and deprive fans of the chance to see their favorite artists at a fair price.”
It adds, “Predatory resellers should not be more profitable than the people dedicating their lives to their art.”
Specifically, some of the bill’s asks include full disclosure of ticket costs at the initial stage, breakdown of ticket costs and terms of purchase, enforcement of the BOTS Act against bot usage, civil penalties on illegal resellers, a ban on speculative tickets, and full refunds for event cancellations.
According to Deadline, the group behind the letter is the Fix the Tix Coalition, a movement led by the National Independent Venue Association and Eventbrite. Both the Fans First Act and the Transparency In Charges for Key Events Ticketing Act or (TICKET Act)—which was passed by the House Energy and Commerce Committee—speak to the live event ticketing system.
