U.S. Sen. John Cornyn is campaigning for stronger federal regulation of ticket selling and re-selling to protect fans from predatory scalpers. Cornyn proposed legislation at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, where representatives from sports teams and music venues joined him to discuss the issue. The proposed FANS First Act would require transparency in ticket pricing, including taxes and fees, and would ban the use of bots to buy tickets. Cornyn was prompted to act following Ticketmaster’s handling of Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour ticket sales, which led to waiting lists and site crashes. He is working with Sen. Amy Klobuchar to push the legislation.
In light of the recent news by a recent article on Keranews.org, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn is campaigning to increase federal regulation of ticket selling and re-selling in order to protect fans from predatory scalpers. Cornyn spoke about his proposed legislation at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, where he was joined by representatives from the Dallas Cowboys, the Dallas Stars, FC Dallas, the Texas Rangers, and the American Airlines Center. The event followed a similar one in Austin, where Cornyn noted that last fall’s uproar over Ticketmaster’s handling of ticket sales for Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour brought the abuses of the secondary market to his attention.
The abuses of the secondary market include the use of automated online ‘bots’ to buy up masses of tickets and then re-sell them at inflated prices. Kate Testone, a University of Arkansas student and self-proclaimed “huge Taylor Swift fan,” recalled the chaos surrounding the ticket sales for The Eras Tour. “The waiting lists were incredibly long. And that was even if you could get on a waiting list,” she said. “And then you’re waiting seven, eight hours and the site crashes.” Amidst all the chaos, “I know some people that bought tickets that didn’t even exist.” Testone said she remembers “distinctly being in a lecture hall and just everyone was disappointed. I remember feeling like, ‘Who’s to blame for this?’”
Cornyn is working with Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, to push the FANS First Act. This legislation would require ticket pricing transparency, including taxes and fees, and ban the use of bots to buy tickets. The act has garnered support from Taylor Swift fans and sports teams alike, including representatives from the Dallas Cowboys, the Dallas Stars, FC Dallas, and the Texas Rangers.
At the American Airlines Center event, Longhorn Ballroom owner Ed Cabaniss spoke about the impact of scalping on small venues like his. “The secondary market is killing the small venues,” he said. “We can’t compete with the big arenas and the big promoters.” Cabaniss expressed support for the FANS First Act, saying, “We need this law to protect the fans and the small venues.”
Basically, the push for increased regulation of ticket selling and re-selling is gaining momentum, with support from fans and industry professionals alike. As Cornyn noted, “What we’re trying to do is focus on the predatory scalpers” in order to protect fans and ensure fair access to tickets. The FANS First Act is a step in the right direction, and it will be interesting to see how it evolves in the coming months.
