Billie Eilish, Lorde and Green Day are among the signatories to an open letter calling for the passage of a bill to protect concert-goers from ticket scams.
More than 280 musicians signed the letter, which encourages lawmakers to implement the Fans First Act to prevent ticketing scams and people reselling tickets at massively inflated prices.
Other high-profile signees include Fall Out Boy, Duran Duran, Finneas, Graham Nash, Nile Rodgers, Chappell Roan, Cyndi Lauper and Sia.
“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 “, we can read in the letter.
“As artists and members of the music community, we depend on touring for our livelihood and we value music fans above all else.
“We come 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.
They conclude: “Predatory dealers should not be more profitable than people who dedicate their lives to their art. »
The Fans First Act was introduced by a bipartisan group of senators last December. It has been mentioned and remains before the committee, which will have to approve it to be able to vote on it. It focuses on three priorities: ticket sales transparency, consumer protection, and stopping bad actors.
The bill would require sellers and resellers of live event tickets to share more information about ticket costs and seat locations, refund customers the full price of tickets when events are canceled and create a reporting website for fans to file complaints. It also contains details of penalties and enforcement actions for ticket retailers who fail to comply.
The letter was written by Fix the Tix, a coalition of more than two dozen live event industry organizations led by the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA).
Earlier this month, Wall Street Journal reported that Live Nation, Ticketmaster’s parent company, is expected to face an antitrust lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Justice as early as next month.
The suit reportedly seeks to allege that the company’s concert promotion and ticketing operations have harmed competition in the live music industry.
The report claims that since the 2010 merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster, the company controls more than 80 percent of the U.S. ticket sales market. THE Newspaper reports that the issues covered by the lawsuit will include unfair market leverage, high transaction fees and poor customer service.
In response to the report, Live Nation’s head of corporate affairs, Dan Wall, argued that the company was actually facing more competition than ever. “If you have to concentrate on one slice of the market to be able to claim a monopoly, then there isn’t one,” he said.
Ticketmaster faced a high-profile controversy in late 2022 after high-profile issues surrounding ticket sales for Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour.” The company said there had been “historically unprecedented demand” for the concerts.
In addition to US lawmakers calling for an investigation into the company, two US senators urged the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to answer for “steps” it was taking to “combat the use and operation of robots in the online ticket sector”. walk “.
Some Swift fans later filed a class-action lawsuit against Ticketmaster, with plaintiffs accusing the company of violating two laws — California’s Cartwright Act and California’s Unfair Competition Law — during the first verified fan presale. Live Nation President Joe Berchtold blamed sales problems on cyberattacks. The lead plaintiff in the case dropped the suit in December 2023, with both parties “agreeing to continue their ongoing settlement discussions through mediation.”
