Fix the Tix Applauds House Energy & Commerce Committee for Advancing an Improved TICKET Act
H.R. 3950 Now Addresses Speculative Ticketing and Deceptive Marketing; More Work is Needed to Ensure Transparent, All-In Pricing Itemization
WASHINGTON, D.C.—December 6, 2023—The Fix the Tix coalition, representing every major constituency in the music and events industry, released the following statement following the House Energy and Commerce Full Committee markup of the TICKET Act.
The Fix the Tix coalition applauds Chairs Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Gus Bilirakis, Ranking Members Frank Pallone and Jan Schakowsky, and Representatives Kelly Armstrong and Lisa Blunt Rochester for championing ticketing reform as leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Their continued commitment to working with the live events and music community is admirable.
Artists, fans, and venues deserve a TICKET Act with meaningful protections in addition to transparency. Predatory resellers sell speculative, or fake, tickets to American consumers every day. They use deceptive websites and marketing tactics to trick fans into thinking they are buying tickets from an artist's venue. These practices are blatantly fraudulent, and the TICKET Act advanced out of Committee today bans them.
However, more must be done to ensure clear and conspicuous itemization of the ticket price and fees are present from the time the ticket purchase transaction begins until the transaction is complete. This is critical for artists and venues to show the highest level of transparency. Without it, all-in pricing in the TICKET Act can’t fully protect consumers. With these changes, the TICKET Act can ultimately become the comprehensive ticketing legislation that consumers need.
The House Energy & Commerce Committee took bold action today to move forward the most comprehensive protections for artists and fans in ticketing that we have seen in years. We look forward to working with the House to ensure the final version of the TICKET Act delivered to the President’s desk continues to provide the highest level of protection for fans, artists, and venues.
More information on Fix the Tix may be found at www.fixthetix.org.
Media Contacts:
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