Is New York the Next Market to Introduce a Ticket Resale Cap?

On Friday February 6, New York State Senator James Skoufis introduced several proposed amendments to New York’s ticketing laws, as per The Hollywood Reporter.

Why it matters:

• The most significant amendment would ban tickets being resold above the face value of their original price.

• Other amendments include a cap on ticket fees, and outlawing speculative ticketing, in which brokers list tickets for sale they don’t have.

Coast to coast:

• The amendments were introduced a day after California announced similar proposed legislation, capping resale tickets at 10% above face value.

• Maine is currently the only US state to enforce price caps on ticket resale.

Industry approval:

• In response, Live Nation issued the following statement: “We applaud the New York Legislature’s efforts to protect fans and artists, with reforms including a cap on concert ticket resale prices and a ban on speculative ticketing.  We look forward to working with legislators as this bill moves forward to strengthen New York’s ticketing laws so that artists, not scalpers, control how their tickets are resold.”

What they said:

• James Skoufis (as per The Hollywood Reporter): “The vast majority of the public is sick and tired of being locked out of these concerts. It’s a nightmarish process to be able to do something as simple as go see your favorite artist in this state. And this is a major proposal to try and stand up for that.”