Washington, DC (CNN) – A bipartisan group of US senators has introduced the “Fans First Act,” aimed at making the lives of sports fans and concertgoers easier following a technical fiasco at Ticketmaster that disrupted Taylor Swift ticket sales.
The legislation includes new restrictions on ticket resellers, protections against online bots that snatch up tickets, and requires ticket sellers to display “all-in” pricing, inclusive of any fees. However, critics argue that the bill seems to give a pass to dominant first-party sellers such as Ticketmaster, whose breakdown during Swift’s highly anticipated tour sale sparked consumer outrage and a public rebuke from the artist herself.
Consumer advocacy groups have expressed support for the bill, but noted that it does not include certain policies they have demanded, such as guaranteeing ticketholders the right to transfer their tickets or set a different price when reselling their tickets.
The Fans First Act has received the endorsement of Live Nation, the parent company of Ticketmaster, with the company stating its support for positive reform to live event ticketing and a federal all-in pricing mandate.
Sponsors of the bill have emphasized that it is designed to work together with other ticketing legislation and address problems in the current ticketing system, cracking down on bots and predatory practices while increasing price transparency for ticket purchasers.
The introduction of the Fans First Act comes after a similar bill, the TICKET Act, cleared a key House committee and as Live Nation faces potential scrutiny from the US Department of Justice in a possible antitrust probe. Live Nation has argued that the real problems in the ticketing industry are bots and industrial-level ticket scalping.
The bill has garnered support from groups representing artists, venues, and music publishers, and comes as a response to the growing furor over live event ticketing.