More than 60 Tennessee sports and entertainment organizations along with the state’s music industry leadership have banded together to end the extensive difficulties created by ticket scalpers.
Tennessee Sports & Entertainment Industry Coalition (TSEIC) encouraged the Tennessee General Assembly to support the proposed legislation, called the Fairness in Ticketing Act in order to make the ticketing market safe for fans. It will restore free market by allowing fans to make well-informed choices when they buying tickets for sports, musical, and other performance events held in Tennessee. The Fairness in Ticketing Act is a consumer protection bill. It will protect fans that spend their hard-earned dollars on live entertainment.
Provisions of the legislation would achieve the following:
• Inform consumers by requiring up-front, clear information consumers should know, including original face value, seat location, and whether the reseller actually has the tickets they are selling in hand.
• End deceiving marketing practices by making it more clear to consumers the differences in non-sanctioned and unofficial resale sites that masquerade as an artist’s, venue’s or event’s official ticket purchase “box office†site.
• Preserve consumer-friendly ticketing methods by ensuring that fans have the best shot at the best seats at face value prices, and preserves the rights of artists, sports teams and venues to use the ticketing methods they choose.
• Preserves the right to resale by establishing a set of rules that are consumer-friendly, above board and transparent, without deception to consumers or the use of illegal “BOTS†to obtain tickets.
• Inform consumers by requiring up-front, clear information consumers should know, including original face value, seat location, and whether the reseller actually has the tickets they are selling in hand.
• End deceiving marketing practices by making it more clear to consumers the differences in non-sanctioned and unofficial resale sites that masquerade as an artist’s, venue’s or event’s official ticket purchase “box office†site.
• Preserve consumer-friendly ticketing methods by ensuring that fans have the best shot at the best seats at face value prices, and preserves the rights of artists, sports teams and venues to use the ticketing methods they choose.
• Preserves the right to resale by establishing a set of rules that are consumer-friendly, above board and transparent, without deception to consumers or the use of illegal “BOTS†to obtain tickets.
“We are proud to stand with more than 60 artists, venues, and major events in support of the Fairness in Ticketing Act," said Pat Halloran, president of The Orpheum Theatre in Memphis. “Our number one priority is Tennessee patrons. We’re tired of watching our patrons be preyed upon by out-of-state scalpers who are only concerned with making a profit. This legislation will cut down on deceptive ticket resale practices, provide our patrons with greater access to face-value tickets and enhance consumers’ protection against misleading ticket sellers.†The fans should know the reasons why they find it
“ take advantage of our patrons by not disclosing speculative tickets and withholding information that would make fans more informed buyers of tickets on the resale market,†said Tom Bugg, general manager of Knoxville-based Bijou and Tennessee Theatres. “We owe it to our fans to provide more transparency to remove the risks that currently exist, and cause far too many problems for far too many fans.â€
“I am sponsoring the Fairness in Ticketing Act to bring order to the resale market and end the ridiculous frustration that so many Tennesseansâ€"and guests to Tennesseeâ€"experience as a consequence of bad behavior by internet scalpers whose main objective is to make a buck, however unscrupulously,†said Haynes. “Fans work hard to earn money for entertainment and they deserve transparency and certainty at the online ticket window.â€
