Photo credit: Fix the Tix Coalition
More than 30 music industry organizations are pushing for ticketing reform to replace the “nightmare fans and artists are living through” with the “Fix the Tix” plan.
Fix the Tix, a coalition of more than 30 national organizations from the live entertainment, music and performing arts industries, has released a roadmap for comprehensive ticketing reform. This artist- and consumer-friendly plan provides a clear path for Congress to address pressing issues and restore confidence in the ticketing experience for fans and artists alike.
The current ticketing market exposes fans and artists to predatory resellers, fraudulent practices and inflated prices. To overcome these challenges, Fix the tix Calls on Congress to enact federal legislation that protects consumers from counterfeit and speculative tickets, price gouging and fraudulent practices, while ensuring transparency and integrity in the ticketing market.
The Fix the Tix plan includes provisions to protect consumers from price gouging, ban speculative and counterfeit tickets, end fraudulent resale practices, ensure transparent ticket pricing, prioritize fan safety, ensure fans are able to resell their tickets, to offset their costs, and to provide security, ban ticket purchases across the country, further ban ticket purchase bots, and protect consumers from consolidation.
The plan is supported by a coalition of groups representing artists, actors, live entertainment workers, venues, festivals, performing arts, record labels, promoters, agents, managers, songwriters, consumers and unions. Supporters include The Recording Academy, Universal Music Group, National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), EventBrite, RIAA, Artists Rights Alliance and more.
“This coalition represents stakeholders who are taking on all the risk to create once-in-a-lifetime experiences and bring joy, employment and economic impact to communities across America,” the collective announces. “We come together to protect fans from price gouging and fraudulent and predatory ticketing practices. More will soon come from our coalition.”
This comprehensive plan reflects the Fix the Tix coalition’s commitment to providing equitable and accessible ticketing experiences for all consumers. Fix the Tix promises to “mobilize industry, artists, consumers and communities across the country on a bipartisan basis to advocate for the passage of this crucial law by the end of this Congress.”
The coalition was formed after a public legal scrutiny that the ticket agency and Ticketmaster faced for their practices. The Senate Judiciary Committee calls Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation a “live entertainment monolith in need of restructuring.”
Last year, US Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. of New Jersey launched an investigation into Live Nation/Ticketmaster’s dynamic “supply and demand” pricing strategy and junk fees. In September, Pascrell sent a letter to Live Nation President and CEO Michael Rapino, urging the company to “be more transparent and fair about its pricing strategies after Ticketmaster confirmed that its dynamic pricing is based on supply and demand.”