U.S. Senators
John Cornyn (R-TX),
Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM),
Roger Wicker (R-MS), and Peter Welch (D-VT) have introduced the Fans First Act, which would help “address flaws in the current live event ticketing system by increasing transparency in ticket sales, protecting consumers from fake or dramatically overpriced tickets, and holding bad actors who engage in illegal ticket sale practices accountable,” according to the announcement.
The act is the latest initiative by the senators, who have
led Congress’ efforts to combat high and exploitative ticket pricing for concerts and other live-entertainment events. Since the ticketing system moved online over the past dozen years, it has become ripe for abuse, with scalpers and bots quickly acquiring thousands of tickets and reselling them for astronomical prices, leaving fans little choice but to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars above the list price in order to attend concerts. The situation became exceptionally heated in 2022 when Bruce Springsteen and Taylor Swift tour tickets went on sale and prices almost immediately soared to thousands of dollars.