The Senate Committee On The Judiciary Held A Hearing On Fair Ticketing: Here's What You Need To Know

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The Senate Committee On The Judiciary Held A Hearing On Fair Ticketing: Here's What You Need To Know

Following the debacle surrounding ticket sales for Taylor Swift's Eras Tour, senators began taking a closer look at the concert-ticketing market and the causes behind the challenging ticket release.

Advocacy/Jan 26, 2023 - 06:35 pm

On Jan. 24, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary held a hearing titled "That's the Ticket: Promoting Competition and Protecting Consumers in Live Entertainment" — and the Recording Academy paid close attention as per what this could mean for artists.

Following the debacle surrounding ticket sales for Taylor Swift's Eras Tour, senators began taking a closer look at the concert-ticketing market and the causes behind the challenging ticket release.

Last week, Sen. Klobuchar (D-MN) stated the hearing would, "examine how consolidation in the live entertainment and ticketing industries harms customers and artists alike."

For context, a congressional hearing is an opportunity for senators or representatives to gather information and hear opinions on potential legislation. In this case, senators heard from multiple witnesses, including Recording Academy member Clyde Lawrence of the band Lawrence, regarding the ticketing marketplace and how it can be improved from both a consumer and artist perspective.

For years, the Recording Academy has been closely following this issue to ensure that any proposed laws or regulations protect both artists and fans.

Throughout the hearing, senators asked Lawrence about the role artists play in setting ticket prices. Lawrence continually emphasized that artists only have a say in the base price of the ticket and they are not involved in setting the amount of fees added.

"To be clear, we have absolutely zero say in what these fees are," Lawrence said in his opening statement. "And when we try not even to negotiate the fees —which we know would be a road to nowhere — but even just to find out how much they will be, we are told nothing."

He even noted that it is common for the band to see a 50 percent fee added to the base ticket price — something that is completely out of their control and that they get no return on.

When discussing possible solutions, Sen. Klobuchar raised the issue of drip pricing, which the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) refers to as the practice of only showing part of a product's price, and revealing other charges later at checkout. Klobuchar then asked the witnesses how they would feel about all-in pricing.

Lawrence stressed the importance of taking the artists and their fans into consideration on this issue, saying that if all-in pricing is adopted then consumers should still receive a breakdown of the fees upfront, so they are aware of what the base ticket-price is versus the fees.

Following the hearing, Todd Dupler, Acting Chief Advocacy & Public Policy Officer at the Recording Academy, spoke with Joseph Morton of the Dallas Morning News to discuss what transpired.

During the interview, Dupler noted that the hearing was just the start of a much broader conversation about ticketing. "There's a lot of different issues that can be looked at in order to ensure that artists get transparency in terms of where the money's going," he stated. "That there's fairness in how they're being treated but then also that they have some control in how they treat their fans."

Furthermore, Dupler reiterated the importance of keeping artists involved in these conversations.

The Senate Committee on the Judiciary is not the only government entity looking into this issue. The FTC has also begun exploring the idea of implementing a rule to crack down on junk fees.

On Oct. 26, 2022, President Biden made the announcement that "the Federal Trade Commission started work on a rule to crack down on unfair and deceptive fees across all industries, fees that were never disclosed. And there was no way to avoid the fee, like processing fees for concert tickets or… resort fees."

The Recording Academy will be submitting comments in the interest of continuing to make sure the artist's voice is heard throughout this process.

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