Ward 6 Council member Charles Allen has introduced a new piece of legislation to the D.C. Council, aimed at cracking down on ticket resellers and other middlemen who are making it difficult for concertgoers to get affordable tickets to live events.
- Allen is seeking a 10% cap on the resale price of tickets for individuals and businesses that sell more than 50 tickets a year.
- Those operations and people would also have to register with the city.
- The requirement to resell only at face value, plus up to 10%, applies to everyone, not just those required to register with the city.
According to Allen, the secondary ticket market platforms, including StubHub, Vivid Seats, TicketNetwork, Ticket Center and SeatGeek, are taking advantage of fans by immediately scooping up as many tickets as possible and reselling them at a much higher cost than the venue or the performer is asking.
“Concertgoers, pure and simple, are getting price gouged,” Allen said. “Right now, people who want to go to a live show in D.C. are competing against companies and scalpers who make a lot of money by immediately scooping up as many tickets as possible and reselling them at a much higher cost than the venue or the performer is asking.”
The legislation, which is called the Restricting Egregious Scalping Against Live Entertainment (RESALE) Act, has already gained support from several key stakeholders, including the National Independent Venue Association and IMP, which runs numerous venues in D.C. and Maryland.
- Two prominent groups have now backed the bill, including the National Independent Venue Association and IMP, which runs numerous venues in D.C. and Maryland, including Merriweather Post Pavilion, the Anthem, and the Lincoln Theatre.
- Audrey Fix Schaefer, the head of communications at IMP, said resellers are making live music events unaffordable for most people.
- Officials at the news conference said live music events in D.C. at venues such as Nationals Park or smaller, more intimate facilities are a multimillion dollar a year business, and they believe in the long run, ticket brokers will do serious damage to the industry.
The ticket resale industry is urging the city council not to pass the bill, citing concerns that it will push fans away from safe, regulated platforms and into unregulated and underground channels where fraud thrives.
| Industry Perspective | Support for the Bill |
|---|---|
| Live Nation Entertainment | Looks forward to working with Allen and the rest of the council to enhance this legislation and other reforms that support fans, artists, and venues. |
| StubHub | Believes fans deserve secure, transparent, and flexible access to live events, but is concerned that the bill will only push fans away from safe, regulated platforms and into unregulated channels. |
Allen said his legislation would act as a deterrent because the fines are steep: $5,000 for each offense and $10,000 for each subsequent offense.
“Concertgoers, pure and simple, are getting price gouged,” Allen said.
