California Bill Aims to Curb Concert Ticket Scalping with 10% Resale Cap
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California residents could soon see relief from exorbitant concert and event ticket prices as lawmakers consider a new bill designed to crack down on ticket speculation. Assemblymember Matt Haney has introduced AB 1720, dubbed the “California Fans First Act,” wich would limit the resale price of tickets to no more than 10% above their face value.
The legislation comes as frustration mounts over the current ticket market, where fans often find themselves competing with automated bots and paying considerably inflated prices. According to Haney, the existing system prioritizes profits for scalpers over accessibility for music lovers.
“For anyone who’s gone to a concert, they know that the system is fundamentally broken,” Haney stated.
Targeting Scalpers, Protecting Fans
AB 1720 would apply to a wide range of live events, including concerts, comedy shows, and theatrical productions. Notably,sporting events are excluded from the proposed regulations. While the specific penalties for violating the law are still being finalized, Haney stressed the urgency of addressing the issue.
The impact of the current system was vividly illustrated by the experience of Marlee Wallace, a music fan who attempted to purchase tickets for a Megan Moroney concert. Wallace recounted facing a virtual queue with an estimated 130,000 people vying for just 17,000 seats.
“I was just in shock. I said, there can not be 130,000 people in this queue,” Wallace told CBS 8. She explained that automated systems allowed bots to infiltrate the online queue, disadvantaging genuine fans.
Ultimately,Wallace found that remaining tickets were priced well above face value,and later appeared on the resale market at up to eight times their original cost.”It seems like nobody is winning in this situation,” she said. “The venue’s not winning, the artist isn’t winning and the customers aren’t winning.We don’t get to see our favorite artists,the artists don’t get to see their fans.”
California Joins a Growing Movement
Haney argues that California, as a central hub for the music industry, has a responsibility to led the way in ensuring access to live events. He criticized ticket brokers and speculators as “parasitic intermediaries” who profit from fans without contributing to the events themselves.
“These professional brokers and speculators, they’re not contributing anything to the show itself. They didn’t write the music, they don’t play an instrument, they didn’t clean the bathrooms. But they’re making most of the money, and they’re standing in between the artist and the fans,” haney explained.
California would not be the first jurisdiction to implement such measures. Maine and Washington, D.C. already have laws in place capping resale markups at 10%. The United Kingdom recently enacted even stricter legislation, allowing resale prices only up to the original ticket cost plus associated fees.
The “California Fans First Act” represents a critically important step toward rebalancing the ti
