NBC News
Billie Eilish, Green Day and other artists back bill that would reform live-event ticketing system
Over 250 artists signed a letter Thursday issuing their support for the Fans First Act.
By Daysia Tolentino
Over 250 popular musicians — including Billie Eilish, Green Day and Dave Matthews — signed a letter Thursday urging the Senate Commerce Committee to support a bill that aims to reform the live-event ticketing system.
The Fans First Act, which was introduced and referred to the Commerce Committee in December, hopes to remedy three major issues in the ticketing industry: ticket transparency, consumer protection and preventing bad actors from charging exorbitant resale prices. It is one of several bills introduced in recent years aimed at combating unfair ticketing practices, including the BOSS and SWIFT Act and the TICKET Act.
Fix the Tix, a coalition of live event industry organizations spearheaded by the National Independent Venue Association and Eventbrite, organized the letter, which was addressed to Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, the ranking member.
Other artists who signed include: Cyndi Lauper, Jason Mraz, Lorde, Sia, Train, Fall Out Boy, Graham Nash, Becky G and Chappell Roan.
Discontent toward the ticketing industry, especially Ticketmaster, reached a fever pitch in recent years. Fans sued Ticketmaster in 2022 after the company struggled to keep up with the demand for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. The Eras Tour debacle led to a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to examine Ticketmaster’s outsize role in the industry. (Swift was not among the artists who signed the letter.)
"We are joining together to say that the current system is broken: predatory resellers and secondary platforms engage in deceptive ticketing practices to inflate ticket prices and deprive fans of the chance to see their favorite artists at a fair price," the letter, a copy of which NBC News viewed, states.
Stephen Parker, executive director of the National Independent Venue Association, said in a statement that “the time for comprehensive ticketing reform is now.”
“It is clear that all participants of the live event ecosystem, from artists, to venues, to fans, demand comprehensive ticketing reform and consumer protection against the predatory ticket resale practices that have deeply afflicted live entertainment in the United States,” Parker said.
The Fans First Act would require all ticket sellers and resellers to disclose and break down the total cost of a ticket, including fees. It would also bolster the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act, which was introduced in 2016 to prohibit scalpers from using software to buy high volumes of tickets, by further prohibiting the use of bots to purchase tickets.
"We, as artists, as music lovers, and as concert attendees ourselves, urge you to support the Fans First Act to combat predatory resellers’ deceptive ticketing practices and the secondary platforms, which also profit from these practices," the letter sent Thursday states. "Predatory resellers should not be more profitable than the people dedicating their lives to their art."
The senators co-sponsoring the bill are: John Cornyn, R-Texas; Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.; Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.; Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M.; Roger Wicker, R-Miss.; Peter Welch, D-Vt.; Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss; and Mark Kelly, D-Ariz.
Live Nation previously issued its support for the bill, saying the company welcomes “legislation that brings positive reform to live event ticketing.”
The company, which owns Ticketmaster, is expected to be served an antitrust lawsuit by the Justice Department as soon as next month, according to The Wall Street Journal.