“US Capitol Building” by ttarasiuk is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

On Tuesday, April 29, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Transparency in Charges for Key Events Ticketing Act–or TICKET Act–for a second time. With a sweeping undercurrent of bipartisan support, the hard-fought legislation against entertainment monopolies and a predatory aftermarket received 409 votes from representatives in favor and only 15 against–an even more pronounced landslide than the 388-24 approval it earned on its first lap through the chamber in May 2024.

Originally introduced by Representatives Jan Schakowsky (Illinois Democrat) and Gus Bilirakis (Florida Republican) in June 2023, the bill advanced to Senate consideration as part of Congress’ initial Continuing Resolution in December of last year. The act was excised from the third and final Continuing Resolution after then-President-Elect Trump, aided by Elon Musk, torpedoed the first bipartisan spending bill. Schakowsky and Bilirakis reintroduced an amended version of the act in February, which guarantees some crucial consumer protections for the live entertainment industry. While some industry representatives have voiced support for the legislation, others, notably independents, have argued that its current form kowtows to “bad actors” through loopholes.

The TICKET Act’s mandates include all-in pricing: the up-front disclosure of the total fee-inclusive price for listed tickets, which has been the most actively pursued element of recent ticketing regulation deliberations. Other notes are directed towards the aftermarket, with a new demand that secondary sellers disclose their status as such, forgoing any pretense to association with artists, promoters or venues. The most promising new regulations include a ban on speculative ticket sales and a requirement that primary ticket sellers guarantee refunds for canceled events or issue replacements in applicable cases, while secondary sellers must clearly express a refund policy at the time of purchase.

However, while these measures are a meaningful step forward, they are not total. The all-in pricing requirement, which is already covered by the FTC’s recent Junk Fees Rule, does not address the major consumer pain point of rising fee prices. Fee-inclusive pricing also makes no demand for the itemized disclosure of fee structures, which may even enable ticketing agents to stray further from the intended prices set by performers. Finally, the ban on speculative ticket sales is weakened by a caveat for “concierge services.”

Industry responses to the TICKET Act have varied. Following its passage by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on April 10, Live Nation expressed support: “We’re grateful to Reps. Gus Bilirakis, Jan Schakowsky, Chairman Brett Guthrie and Ranking Member Pallone for re-introducing the TICKET Act, which includes an all-in pricing mandate and bans speculative ticketing – a deceptive scheme that targets concert-going fans. Live Nation has long advocated for such reforms, and we’re hopeful Congress could soon pass these important changes into law to make the concert industry better for fans and artists.”

Stephen Parker, Executive Director of the National Independent Venue Association, expressed a more nuanced view: “The speculative ticketing ban in the TICKET Act is an important step toward restoring trust in the ticketing market. Artists, independent venues, and promoters fought tirelessly over the last two years to secure this critical protection. Any national ticketing law must truly ban speculative tickets without exception.

Unfortunately, the inclusion of a ‘concierge service’ carveout, as written in the TICKET Act, would undermine the speculative ticket ban. Concierge services should not be a loophole for companies like Vivid Seats to claim they are offering a service while selling ‘tickets’ they don’t possess to unsuspecting fans. States across the country have proven that strong, loophole-free ticketing consumer protections work, and Congress should build on that momentum. The White House Executive Order on Combating Unfair Practices in the Live Entertainment Market also made clear that deceptive practices must be fixed, not rebranded.

We urge Congress to amend the language to ensure that ‘concierge services’ do not empower multi-billion-dollar resale platforms over consumers. Further, we support strengthening the law with enhanced penalties and enforcement authority for state attorneys general to deter bad actors and ensure the law is followed. Illegal bot use runs rampant in the ticketing industry because the FTC has brought only one enforcement action since the use of bots was banned in 2016. We hope Congress does not miss the opportunity to ensure these laws are effectively enforced in the future.”

Nathaniel Marro, Executive Director of the National Independent Talent Organization–which, alongside NIVA, expressed support for the first treatment of the act and reservations for its revisions–was concise and critical: “The TICKET Act that just passed the House does not do nearly enough to protect fans and consumers against bad actors. Vivid Seats’ speculative ticket ‘seat saver’ program is still 100% legal. All-in pricing without itemization means fans won’t know the price the artist sets. Bots will continue to run rampant without stronger enforcement mechanisms. NITO urges the Senate to strengthen this bill prior to passage, and we will continue to advocate for stronger protections for our community.”

The TICKET Act now moves to the Senate once more for another round of consideration. Read the full details of the TICKET Act here.