State Senate is in its Transparent Ticketing Pricing Era
(Boston- 7/12/2024) Thursday evening the Massachusetts State Senate passed an expansive Economic Development bill that includes consumer protection provisions that mirror Senator John C. Velis’s Transparent Ticket Pricing bill filed earlier this session. Last spring, Velis’sAn Act Ensuring Transparent Ticket Pricing took Massachusetts and the nation by storm as fans celebrated the bill’s push to require ticket sale companies to increase transparency in the ticket purchasing process ahead of fourteen time GRAMMY award winner Taylor Swift’s performance at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough Massachusetts.
Within the underlying bill released by Senate Ways and Means last Tuesday, An Act relative to strengthening Massachusetts’ economic leadership, includes provisions from Velis’s ticket transparency bill. The language in the final bill passed yesterday would require ticket sale companies to clearly display the full price of a live entertainment ticket, including all associated fees, from the onset of the ticket purchasing experience.
“From sport fans to fans of live entertainment, I have heard universally that folks are beyond frustrated when it comes to purchasing tickets because of these hidden fees tacked on at the last second. Too often, fans are left heartbroken when they turn back to select more moderately priced tickets only to find the event has become sold out,” shared Senator John C. Velis (D-Westfield). “I am grateful to my colleagues for their work to include this important consumer protection within our Economic Development bill to move this impactful measure forward and add Massachusetts to a growing number of states that require ticket companies to be more transparent in their sale of tickets.”
Currently, consumers who have selected a ticket within their budget to purchase often find out during the billing process that there are several required fees added to the original ticket price. These additional fees can sometimes amount to hundreds of dollars above the advertised price and require consumers to make quick decisions on whether to move forward with the purchase of the tickets or lose their spot. As a result of this non-transparent ticket pricing method, consumers are often unable to know the actual cost of a ticket at the onset of the ticket sale process and appropriately plan.
With similar consumer protections for ticket sales included with the House’s Economic Development bill, the two bills move to conference committee to reconcile their differences.
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