Senators hope to legislate more competition in event ticketing

Looks like something is actually coming out of those high-profile Ticketmaster hearings in the wake of the Taylor Swift ticketing debacle, with a new bill being introduced in the Senate that could spur competition in the live-ticketing market. If passed, it may be the perfect opportunity to see if venues are truly happy with Ticketmaster’s dominance or if they’re looking to book a new service.

Overthrowing the Ticketmaster
Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) introduced the “Unlock Ticketing Markets Act” in an effort to make the ticketing industry more competitive.

• It would give the Federal Trade Commission power “to prevent the use of excessively long multi-year exclusive contracts that lock out competitors, decrease incentives to innovate new services, and increase costs for fans.”

While the Senators don’t call out Ticketmaster directly, the company controls roughly 70-80% of the ticketing market and typically locks up contracts with venues for up to ten years. In response, Ticketmaster said that venues typically choose those contracts to ensure guaranteed payments.

But the Senate isn’t done with this issue. Another bill, the “Transparency in Charges for Key Events Ticketing (TICKET) Act,” which would require ticketing companies to show all the fees upfront, is set to be introduced on Wednesday.