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16:55 Friday, 1 July 2022
Sadly, it's become almost common to find that the fees for a concert ticket are almost as much as the ticket itself. But new legislation in New York may cut down on some of the fee clutter as the state has introduced a new law combatting hidden ticket fees as well as what is dubbed as "anti-consumer ticketing practices."
The new bill, which will affect live concert events, theater and sporting events, was signed into law on Thursday (June 30) by New York governor Kathy Hochul and it comes after an legislative investigation was launched into the live events industry in 2020 and 2021.
“Live entertainment has long been a critical sector in our economy, and as consumers and the industry recover from the pandemic, it is important that we make the ticket-buying experience easier and more transparent,” Hochul said in a statement shared by Deadline. “This bill will expand penalties for malicious ticketing practices that have made live events inaccessible to New Yorkers for too long.”
Some of the key components of the new law include increased transparency for the ticket buyer by making sellers clearly display the cost of the ticket, the banning of hidden fees and expanded penalties for those using "scalper bots and ticket purchasing software" to scoop up mass quantities of tickets to events. In addition, the new legislation outlaws the sale of free tickets and nixes delivery fees on tickets that are delivered electronically or printed at home by the buyer.
“[It's] an important step towards ensuring that every New Yorker has a fair opportunity to enjoy the unique arts and cultural experiences that our state has to offer,” stated Hochul.
State Sen. James Skoufis said, “While there’s still more work to be done to ensure the live event ticketing industry is fully accountable to its customer, I am proud of the work we accomplished this year to eliminate hidden fees, ensure all-in pricing, fight bots and several other measures to inject some honesty into the ticket-buying process.”
