Credit: lorimcm
Zach Bryan and AEG may face millions in fines for alleged violations of Virginia’s Ticket Resale Rights Act.
Country singer Zach Bryan and promoter AEG could face fines of up to $100 million for violating Virginia’s Ticket Resale Rights Act, passed in 2017. Bryan’s Burn, Burn, Burn tour made headlines when tickets went on sale for the first time after the singer ragged on Ticketmaster – then announced that he would ban any resale or transfer of tickets to the shows.
Presumably shows in states like Colorado, Virginia and New York, which have state laws imposing unlawful restrictions on purchased tickets, wouldn’t allow a policy like Bryan’s due to the risk of massive fines. But many Reports surfaced of affected customers who were never activated for ticket transfer to the show at the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia, despite a page on the venue’s website explaining otherwise due to state law.
Adopted in 2017, Virginia’s Ticket Resale Rights Act states clearly:
“No one who issues tickets to an event may issue such tickets solely through a method of mailing that substantially prevents the ticket purchaser from lawfully reselling the ticket on the internet ticketing platform of their choice.”
Violation of this state law can result in penalties ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 per violation. Since the John Paul Jones Arena has a stated capacity of 14,593 spectators, fines for issuing that number of tickets in violation of state law could range from $14 million to $72 million.
Fan complaints surfaced on Facebook about the broadcast restrictions. Some posts pointed out that if fans bought tickets for friends or family, they were “forced” to attend the show themselves as the tickets could not be transferred to those people. Others reported that ticket sales on resale platforms were handled by the seller providing access to the account from which the tickets were purchased.