Earlier this year, the US House of Representatives passed the TICKET Act, a proposed bill that would increase pricing transparency in the ticket industry and ban speculative ticketing practices. Just a few days ago, it was set to pass in the US Senate as part of a continuing resolution spending bill, but due to recent actions from President-Elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk, the TICKET Act is now in limbo.
Though the bipartisan deal had been endorsed by Republican leadership, Trump demanded it be scrapped on Wednesday with the support of his advisors Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy as they pushed for more spending cuts. With GOP leadership scrambling to create a revised spending bill, the TICKET Act appears to have fallen by the wayside.
On Thursday, Republican leadership proposed a new spending bill, excluding the TICKET Act, with backing from Trump. However, the vote failed as 38 Republicans joined a majority of Democrats in opposition. As of Friday, no resolution has been reached, though Speaker Mike Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries are reportedly negotiating a revised funding deal that would separate individual bills and exclude the TICKET Act.
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As currently written, the TICKET Act would mandate both primary and secondary ticket sellers show the “all-in” price of a ticket (including an itemized list of all fees) before checkout. It would also ban resellers from selling tickets unless they actually have them in hand.
It’s worth noting both NIVA (National Independent Venue Association) and Live Nation/Ticketmaster had reportedly pushed back against including the TICKET Act in the spending bill.
Per Pollstar, NIVA has given behind-the-scenes support to the “Fans First Act,” which would instead allow venues and promoters to regulate themselves. Meanwhile, Live Nation is optimistic that the incoming Trump Administration would be more favorable to their way of running business.
Independent of the TICKET Act, the Federal Trade Commission announced a new rule earlier this week requiring a transparent display of all mandatory fees upfront in the buying process.
Hopefully, the American public won’t have to rely on holding Kid Rock to his promise of opening “a can of whoop ass on the bots, scalpers, venues, ticketing companies, managers, and artists alike who rip off and deceive the public.”
This bill should not pass https://t.co/eccQ6COZJ4
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 18, 2024
Yesterday’s bill vs today’s bill 😂 pic.twitter.com/L3Omn964mw
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 19, 2024
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