House passes TICKET Act targeting hidden concert fees

(The Hill) – The House passed bipartisan legislation this week aimed at requiring ticket sellers to disclose the total cost of tickets up front to consumers, including so-called hidden fees.

The bill, dubbed the Transparency In Charges for Key Events Ticketing (TICKET) Act, passed Wednesday with overwhelming bipartisan support, 338-24.

“This consensus legislation will end deceptive ticketing practices that frustrate consumers who simply want to enjoy a concert, show, or sporting event by restoring fairness and transparency to the ticket marketplace,” top Republicans and Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, as well as the top members on the Innovation, Data, and Commerce Subcommittee, said in a joint statement. 

“After years of bipartisan work, we will now be able to enhance the customer experience of buying event tickets online. We look forward to continuing to work together to urge quick Senate passage so that we can send it to the president's desk to be signed into law,” the statement continued. 

The lawmakers say the bill is aimed at increasing transparency in the live event ticket marketplace, by requiring the full cost of event tickets to be disclosed to consumers upfront. 

The bill also seeks to ban sales of tickets that sellers do not have, as well as guarantee refunds for event cancellations, according to a release detailing the measure, which has also been introduced in the Senate. 

Live Nation Entertainment also applauded the House for the bill’s passage, which comes after the company put out data showing its transition to “all-in” pricing led to an increase in completed sales. 

“We’ve led the industry by adopting all-in pricing and support a national law to ensure everyone follows this policy that benefits fans and artists,” the company said. “We also back other ticketing reforms like enhancing anti-bot legislation and banning speculative ticketing and other predatory resale practices.”

“Bipartisan support for these reforms show that protecting fans and artists is in everyone’s interest. We look forward to working with policymakers to make these changes law.”