Healey targets ticket resale fees
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Gov. Maura Healey wants to crack down on ticket resale markups and fees for concerts and sporting events in Massachusetts.
Why it matters: Fans are paying far above face value for tickets on secondary markets like StubHub and SeatGeek, sometimes for tickets that don't even exist.
State of play: Healey's bill would cap resale prices at 110% of a ticket's original face value and restrict resale service fees to 10% of the ticket price, about half what some platforms charge.
What she's saying: "It's infuriating. It's unfair, and it just costs way too much," Healey said.
- The governor cited the experience of Noah Kahan fans who paid through the nose for tickets to his multi-night run at Fenway Park last week.
In a bizarre moment at the State House press conference introducing the bill, Healey picked up a bright red phone to "talk" to Kahan, who appeared on a screen on stage in a prerecorded message backing the measure.
Zoom in: The proposal would also ban the sale of speculative tickets, meaning listings for seats that sellers don't actually have.
- According to Healey, some fans buying resale tickets to World Cup matches at Gillette Stadium this summer reported their tickets never even existed.
The other side: The ticket resale industry says it's Ticketmaster and Live Nation that are behind sky-high costs.
- "If the goal is making tickets more affordable for fans, aiming this bill at resale misses the mark by not holding Live Nation-Ticketmaster to the same standard," SeatGeek vice president of governmental affairs Joe Freeman told Axios.
- Ticket Policy Forum executive director Brian Berry told Axios "the cap only targets resale and does nothing to curtail Ticketmaster raising box office prices through dynamic and platinum pricing."
- Stubhub would not comment, instead referring to the Ticket Policy Forum statement.
The big picture: Massachusetts would join Maine and Kahan's native Vermont, which have adopted similar resale protections.
Reality check: Healey plans to include the measure in an upcoming budget bill, but there's no guarantee lawmakers will back her, especially if the ticket resale industry wants to fight back with a strong lobbying effort.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to add statements from Ticket Policy Forum and SeatGeek.