Artists come together to advocate for fans of their live shows.
More than 250 artists, including Billie Eilish, Lorde, Green Day, Diplo, Cyndi Lauper, Fall Out Boy and Becky G., signed an open letter to the Senate Commerce Committee asking them to pass the Fans First Act to protect consumers versus robots and add more transparency to the concert ticket purchasing process.
“As artists and members of the music community, we depend on touring for our livelihood and we value music fans above all else,” the letter begins.
“We stand 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 .”
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The letter goes on to describe how deceptive resellers have damaged the relationship between artists and their fans by making their events less affordable for fans – sometimes inflating ticket prices up to “20 times face value.”
Too often, fans show up to concerts and live events without a valid ticket because of “predatory resellers,” according to the letter.
“No one cares more about fans than artists,” the letter reads, before describing how the Fans First Act he advocates “provides us with more tools to combat predatory resellers and the use of of illegal robots”.
According to the letter, the law will prohibit “fake tickets and deceptive marketing tactics that trick our fans into paying more for tickets that may never get them to a show.”
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It will also require resellers to present the buyer with “the full itemized price of a ticket from the time the transaction begins” and will set out clear penalties and enforcement methods for any reseller who violates the law.
“Predatory dealers should not be more profitable than people who dedicate their lives to their art,” the letter concludes.
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The letter comes days after the conclusion of Coachella 2024, the popular music festival based in Indio, California.
Fans also expect concerts from Justin Timberlake, Foo Fighters, Bleachers, Janet Jackson, Blink-182, Olivia Rodrigo, Usher and other artists, according to Weekly Entertainment.
