D.C. is trying to rein in resale ticket prices
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D.C. is trying to make concert tickets cheaper — and pricing clearer — on the resale market.
Why it matters: As going out gets more expensive, lawmakers say the rules would prevent concertgoers from getting ripped off, but big resellers like StubHub argue the new regulations would drive ticket sales underground.
Driving the news: The D.C. Council approved a bill Tuesday that would cap ticket resale markups at 10% above face value and would require sellers to display the original ticket price.
- The RESALE Act also targets bots that buy tickets en masse — sometimes minutes after sales go live — helping inflate resale prices.
- Local venues support the measures, saying there's been a proliferation of sketchy resellers and outright fraudulent tickets.
- "When fans come to our box offices with fake tickets, it's us at the venue that are faced with an understandably angry customer that thinks it's our fault," Audrey Fix Schaefer, spokesperson for 9:30 Club, The Anthem and other I.M.P. venues, told the D.C. Council recently.
- The bill wouldn't apply to sporting events.
The other side: StubHub and SeatGeek say the 10% cap would lead to people hawking tickets on social media, where fraudulent sales could spread and buyers have no recourse.
- The companies also argue the rules would benefit Ticketmaster, which sells original tickets and also provides a platform for resales, by making it harder for independent resale marketplaces to compete. (If you haven't been following the Live Nation/Ticketmaster saga, the company has been sued for allegedly monopolizing the live concert market, and it recently agreed to a $9.9 million D.C. settlement over deceptive ticket pricing allegations.)
- "While the RESALE Act does provide some important consumer protections, it is otherwise laden with Ticketmaster's wish list," said Brian Berry of Ticket Policy Forum, a group that opposes the bill.
The intrigue: The bill would also crack down on surveillance pricing, which is when online sellers use personal information to charge users different prices for the same product.
What's next: The bill awaits Mayor Muriel Bowser's signature.
- Bowser initially opposed a provision of the bill that gave D.C.'s mayor the power to set caps on how much an original seller of a ticket can charge consumers.
- That portion was stripped out before its final vote Tuesday, giving it unanimous approval in the council.