By WASHINGTON — Lawmakers introduced a new bipartisan bill on Thursday targeting ticketing-fee disclosures in an effort to increase transparency in the entertainment industry.
The “Transparency in Charges for Key Events Ticketing Act,” or TICKET Act, is modeled after current advertising guidelines for airline tickets, which require disclosing the full ticket price before purchase. Reps. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., and Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., are co-sponsoring the bill.
“Fans are incredibly frustrated by how hard it has become to buy event tickets. With every ticketing debacle, from Beyoncé to Taylor Swift, and so many more, their frustration grows,” Schakowsky said in a statement. “Consumers deserve to be protected from fraudulent tickets, surprise costs, and excessive fees.”
The bill is a companion to legislation introduced by Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, in April. Its release follows a subcommittee hearing on regulating extra surcharges, or “junk fees,” which have become a particular focus of the Biden administration.
“The price, they say, really should be the price you pay,” Cantwell said during the Thursday hearing. “And that can be added to, but it needs to be disclosed.”
The House bill mirrors the Senate measure in mandating ticket vendors to display the total price of a ticket, including all required fees, in any advertisement or piece of marketing.
An itemized list of the base ticket price and associated fees must also be disclosed at the start of the purchase, according to the bill, and vendors must also be upfront about “speculative” tickets not in the seller’s possession.
Bilirakis said the bill will bring “much-needed transparency to the whole ticketing industry.”
“There is nothing more disappointing for an avid fan than being lured into the prospect of an affordable ticket to see his or her favorite sports team or band only to learn later in the checkout process that the final price tag is significantly higher,” he said, adding that he’s “committed to working towards reforms that protect consumers and provide certainty in the marketplace.”
Schakowsky and Bilirakis cited studies from the New York Attorney General’s Office and the Government Accountability Office that show ticketing fees can contribute anywhere from 21% to as much as 58% of the total cost of tickets.
Ticketing sites and associated fees have come under intense scrutiny in recent months, driven largely by a fumbled Ticketmaster presale for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour late last year. The site buckled under overwhelming demand, prompting calls for antitrust action against parent company Live Nation.
