More than 250 musicians call for concert ticketing reform

More than 250 musicians, including notable figures such as Billie Eilish and Lorde, have signed a letter to Congress calling for concert ticket reform.

“We know you are hearing from many people about concert ticketing and its impact on fans,” reads the Thursday letter addressed to Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and ranking member Ted Cruz (R-Texas).

“As artists and members of the music community, we rely on touring for our livelihood, and we value music fans above all else,” continues the letter, which was also signed by Green Day, Chappell Roan and Nile Rodgers, among others. ”We are joining together to say that the current system is broken: predatory resellers and secondary platforms engage in deceptive ticketing practices to inflate ticket prices and deprive fans of the chance to see their favorite artists at a fair price.”

The letter also pushes for Cruz and Cantwell to support the “Fans First Act,” introduced by a bipartisan group of senators, including Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas.) back in December. The act aims to “promote fairness in the sale of event tickets,” 

“The current ticketing system is riddled with problems and doesn’t serve the needs of fans, teams, artists, or venues,” Cornyn, the main sponsor of the legislation, said in a December press release. “This legislation would rebuild trust in the ticketing system by cracking down on bots and others who take advantage of consumers through price gouging and other predatory practices and increase price transparency for ticket purchasers.”   

The artists said in the letter that they “as artists, as music lovers, and as concert attendees ourselves, urge you to support the Fans First Act to combat predatory resellers’ deceptive ticketing practices and the secondary platforms, which also profit from these practices.”

“Predatory resellers should not be more profitable than the people dedicating their lives to their art,” the letter continues.