More than 250 artists, including Billie Eilish, Lorde, Fall Out Boy, Diplo, Becky G, Green Day, Sia and more signed an open letter Thursday (April 25) to the Senate Commerce Committee calling on Congress to pass the Act One of the Fans. Artists argue that the bill supporting consumer protections from bots and greater transparency in ticket sales is vital to the survival of the live music business.
“As artists and members of the music community, we rely on touring for a living and value music fans above all else,” the letter opens. “We come together to say that the current system is broken: predatory resellers and secondary platforms engage in deceptive ticketing practices to inflate ticket prices and deprive fans of the opportunity to see their favorite artists at a fair price. Predatory resellers are unregulated while they siphon money from the live entertainment ecosystem for their own benefit.”
The letter states that these predatory sellers illegally use bots, speculative ticket listings and fraudulent advertising that causes real harm to consumers. “The relationship between artist and fan, which forms the backbone of the entire music industry, has been severed,” the letter warns. “No one cares more about the fans than the artists. When predatory resellers scoop up face value tickets before fans to resell at inflated prices on the secondary market, artists miss out on connecting with fans who can't afford to attend.”
The Fix the Tix letter claims fans are being lured by deceptive URLs and ads that “disguise resale and trick consumers into playing up to 20 times face value” when face value tickets are still available from the venue, as well as “predatory” resellers who list tickets for shows before they go on the market — before they even have tickets in hand — often resulting in fans showing up at venues without a valid ticket.
“Predatory resellers don't invest in creating a great live experience or promoting live music
ecosystem – they simply benefit from the hard work of artists, venues and crew,” he says. “In fact, resellers and secondary ticketing platforms often benefit more from the artist's work than the artists themselves.”
The signatories support the bipartisan Fans First Act – introduced in December by Senators John Cornyn, Amy Klobuchar, Marsha Blackburn, Peter Welch, Roger Wicker and Ben Ray Lujan – that would ban ticket counterfeiting and deceptive marketing tactics, as well as requiring ticket sellers to display the full, itemized price of a ticket from the moment the transaction begins, with clear penalties and enforcement to support the bill.
“We, as artists, music fans and concertgoers, urge you to support the Fans First Act to combat the deceptive ticketing practices of predatory resellers and secondary platforms, who also profit from these practices,” he concludes. The letter. “Predatory resellers should not be more profitable than people who dedicate their lives to their craft.” The letter was addressed to Sen. Maria Cantwell, the chairwoman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, and the committee's ranking member, Ted Cruz of Texas, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Cornyn and Klobuchar cc'd. also.
Other signatories to the letter include: Aimee Mann, Finneas, Evanescence's Amy Lee, Nile Rodgers, OK GO, Halestorm, Becky G, Graham Nash, Goose, Pixies, Particle Kid, Ben Folds, Rickie Lee Jones, Jason Mraz, the members by Duran Duran, Bright Eyes, Julia Michaels, Cyndi Lauper, Sylvan Esso, Major Lazer, MGMT, Yes and many more.
