Gov. Maura Healey is looking to stop fans from paying “exorbitant prices” for resale concert and sports tickets, proposing consumer protections for the secondary market under a Noah Kahan-inspired bill.
The governor’s fandom for the Vermont-born singer-songwriter continues to grow, as she has named the proposed legislation “The Great Divide Act,” honoring Kahan’s hit album.
Under the bill, which Healey is set to include in her closeout supplemental budget, the resale price of tickets would be capped at 110% of the original face value cost. It would also bar ticket resellers from imposing service fees greater than 10% of the total value.
“Far too many Massachusetts residents have experienced the pain of being excited to buy tickets to see their favorite singer or sports team,” Healey said in a statement, “only to realize that resale prices and fees have driven up the cost to an outrageous level.”
“Or how about when you do purchase tickets from a reseller, only to get to the venue to realize the seller never actually transfers them to you?” she added. “Enough is enough.”
Kahan, a vocal opponent of predatory resale practices, called Healey during a news conference that the governor held at the State House on Thursday. The singer-songwriter expressed his support, saying the legislation “excited” him.
“The artist community and fans will greatly benefit from limiting ticket scalping and the sales of speculative tickets,” Kahan said. “I love my fans and want to protect them however I can. Artists alone could not tackle the market manipulation of secondary resellers.”
The sale of so-called “speculative tickets” would be banned, meaning fans will only receive tickets that are actually in the seller’s possession when they are listed on the market. Deceptive websites that ticket resellers use to mislead consumers about ticket availability would also be prohibited under the bill.
The Ticket Policy Forum, a coalition of America’s leading online ticket marketplaces, says it supports the ban on deceptive speculative tickets, agreeing with Healey that tickets are “more expensive than ever.”
Healey’s legislation, though, doesn’t do enough, the coalition argues, as it “exempts the illegal Ticketmaster-Live Nation monopoly, which continues to push prices up and is the source of the vast majority of tickets for fans in Massachusetts.”
“Exempting Ticketmaster means prices will continue to rise for most ticket sales in the state,” the coalition said in a statement, “since the cap would only apply to resale, which represents a small fraction of overall ticket sales.”
“Exempting Ticketmaster is protection for the illegal monopoly, not fans,” the coalition added. “Lawmakers should right this wrong immediately and ensure Ticketmaster is included in any new ticketing regulations.”
Healey publicized her fandom for Kahan when she declared July 11 “Noah Kahan Day,” as the popular folk-pop singer-songwriter finished his historic, record-breaking stretch of four consecutive sold-out nights at Fenway Park last week.
After he drew in over 151,000 fans over the stretch, Kahan received induction into the Fenway Music Hall of Fame.