Billie Eilish, Lorde, Green Day, Dave Matthews Band and more artists have thrown their support towards The Fans First Act, a bill that is pushing to reform the live-event ticketing system.
More than 250 musicians have signed a letter today (April 25) urging the Senate Commerce Committee to fix three noted issues in the live ticketing industry: ticket transparency, consumer protection and preventing exorbitant resale prices.
Other artists reported to have signed the letter include Finneas, Fall Out Boy, Chappell Roan, Pixies, Becky G, Cyndi Lauper, Sia, Darlene Love, Goose, Graham Nash, Jason Mraz, and Train.
Organized by Fix the Tix, a coalition of live event industry organizations led by the National Independent Venue Association and Eventbrite, the letter was addressed to Senators Maria Cantwell and Ted Cruz, members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation,
“The Fix the Tix Coalition is proud to deliver this critical call to action from artists whose fans experience the injustices of the resale market every show,' the letter reads. "And we hope their message resonates with Congress, as officials elected to protect their constituents and as Americans who simply love music.
“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 Fans First Act would require ticket sellers and resellers to show transparency by disclosing and breaking down the total cost of a ticket, including the original price and additional fees. This would support the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act that was introduced back in 2016 to stop scalpers from using software "bots" to buy large numbers of tickets.
"We, 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," the letter states. "Predatory resellers should not be more profitable than the people dedicating their lives to their art."
Surprisingly, back in December Live Nation has shown its support for the bill, saying, “We support the Fans First Act and welcome legislation that brings positive reform to live event ticketing. We believe it’s critical Congress acts to protect fans and artists from predatory resale practices, and have long supported a federal all-in pricing mandate, banning speculative ticketing and deceptive websites, as well as other measures. We look forward to our continued work with policymakers to advocate for even stronger reforms and enforcement.”