Ticket Sale Market Needs Regulations

U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell's BOSS Act would offer needed rules to protect fans.

There can be too much government regulation of markets. There can also be too little government regulation of markets.

The entertainment ticket market (concerts, games and other big events) falls decidedly into the underregulated column. Too many fans have long been forced to take needless risks in buying concert, game and other tickets they want on the secondary ticket market. And for too long they've been at the mercy of a near-monopoly company, Ticketmaster, that slaps extra charges onto tickets and keeps fans in the dark on exactly how many tickets are available to events.

We applaud U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., for seeking to put some needed regulations in place.

Fans willing to pay top dollar for a seat should certainly be able to do so. After all, capitalism is a fundamental part of our nation.

But Pascrell's legislation seeks to wipe out the unfair practices that give ticket brokers an edge over fans and protect fans from being defrauded through the sale of fake tickets. This reform is needed.

Monday, Pascrell introduced the BOSS (Better Oversight of Secondary Sales and Accountability in Concert Ticketing) Act.

In February, fans trying to use Ticketmaster's Web site to buy $65 and $95 tickets for two Bruce Springsteen concerts in East Rutherford were steered to TicketsNow, a Ticketmaster subsidiary. TicketsNow had many seats, but the cost ranged from $200 to $5,000 apiece.

The state of New Jersey sued on behalf of fans and Ticketmaster quickly settled, agreeing to change ticket sale practices not just in New Jersey, but nationally. This case brought national attention to something that's been a problem for years.

Pascrell's BOSS Act would seek to force primary ticket sellers, such as Ticketmaster, to do several things, including:

Disclose the number of tickets available for sale to the public for an event.

Make it illegal for any promoter, artist or primary ticket seller or their employees to resell tickets to events they are involved in at more than the tickets' face value.

Refund all extra charges, along with the base ticket cost, when events are cancelled.
Advertisement

The BOSS Act would also seek to regulate the network of brokers and Web sites that constitute the secondary ticket market. Ticket brokers would have to register with the Federal Trade Commission. Registered brokers and their employees would be barred from buying tickets for any event during the first 48 hours of the primary public sale.

When selling tickets, brokers would have to disclose a number of things to buyers, including the original face value price of the ticket.

The first part of this legislation dealing with primary ticket sellers would be much easier to implement and enforce than the regulations on the secondary market. After all, what makes a "ticket broker?" If someone has Eagles season tickets, for example, and sometimes sells a few of them, is that person a "broker?"

We wouldn't want Pascrell's legislation to make it nearly impossible for individuals to sell tickets they can't use.

At the same time though, Pascrell is right that the ticket market needs rules designed to protect fans from being cheated and ripped off. We urge New Jersey's other lawmakers in Washington to support Pascrell's bill.
Refund all extra charges, along with the base ticket cost, when events are cancelled.

The BOSS Act would also seek to regulate the network of brokers and Web sites that constitute the secondary ticket market. Ticket brokers would have to register with the Federal Trade Commission. Registered brokers and their employees would be barred from buying tickets for any event during the first 48 hours of the primary public sale.

When selling tickets, brokers would have to disclose a number of things to buyers, including the original face value price of the ticket.

The first part of this legislation dealing with primary ticket sellers would be much easier to implement and enforce than the regulations on the secondary market. After all, what makes a "ticket broker?" If someone has Eagles season tickets, for example, and sometimes sells a few of them, is that person a "broker?"

We wouldn't want Pascrell's legislation to make it nearly impossible for individuals to sell tickets they can't use.

At the same time though, Pascrell is right that the ticket market needs rules designed to protect fans from being cheated and ripped off. We urge New Jersey's other lawmakers in Washington to support Pascrell's bill.