New California Bill Targets Ticket Resale Scheme Inflating Concert and Live Event Prices

Assemblymember Haney's AB 1720, the California Fans First Act, restores fairness to the concert and live event ticket market and supports live music venues and touring artists by capping out-of-control ticket resale prices to 10% above face value.

• Annie Keys
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SACRAMENTO, CA - Today, Assemblymember Matt Haney (D- San Francisco) introduced AB 1720, the California Fans First Act, to cap the resale price of concert and live event tickets at no more than 10 percent above face value, to curb price gouging by ticket brokers and resale platforms and ensure live music remains accessible to fans.

"For decades, concert tickets were sold at face value to real fans who wanted to see the artists they loved," said Haney, who chairs the Committee on Downtown Recovery. "But today, professional scalpers and bots buy up tickets in seconds and resell them at massive markups. This bill puts an end to that system and puts the concert experience back where it belongs: with fans and artists."

While ticketing has moved online, the fundamental promise of live music has not changed. What has changed is the rise of resale platforms that have turned concert tickets into a speculative market. Automated bots and ticket brokers now dominate ticket sales, driving prices far beyond face value without providing any benefit to artists, venues, or fans.

This week, the latest releases from the Epstein Files revealed a ticket resale scheme that involved purchasing high volumes of face-value tickets for events like the Grateful Dead 50th Reunion Tour and Coachella, and reselling them at exorbitant costs.

"I did everything right to try to see my favorite artist," said Marlee Wallace, a music fan. "I signed up for the artist presale and was ready the moment tickets went on sale, but there were more than 130,000 people and bots in the queue for a 17,000-seat venue. By the time I got through, the only tickets left were outrageously expensive - and now I'm seeing those same tickets resold for up to eight times the original price. It's frustrating and makes it feel impossible for me to support the artists and venues I love."

Data shows ticket buyers pay more than double the original price on the secondary market, with some tickets resold for several times their face value. In one study, tickets with an average face value under $80 were resold for more than $1,000. Artists who intentionally keep ticket prices low to make shows accessible still see thousands of their tickets flipped on resale sites at markups exceeding 300 percent.

"Concert tickets aren't stocks to be flipped for profit. They're a chance for real fans to see the artists they love. Yet for years we've let out-of-state scalpers and speculators cut the line, buy up tickets in bulk, and resell them at outrageous markups-shutting out fans while taking the lion's share of the money. They didn't write the songs. They didn't build the venues. They didn't clean the bathrooms. They didn't put on the show. But they're the ones cashing in. That's not fair, and it's not inevitable," Haney said. "California is the heart of the music industry, and we have a duty to stand with fans, artists, and venues, not speculators and scalpers. This is about restoring common sense and making sure live music is about community and culture, not price-gouging and profiteering."

At Sunday's Grammy Awards, Best New Artist winner Olivia Dean was lauded for criticizing exploitative ticket resellers and the unchecked secondary market for allowing ticket prices for her show to be artificially hiked up - in this case, 14 times above face value. Fans celebrated when her criticism resulted in partial refunds for ticket holders who overpaid.

"Artists want fans in the room, not bots and brokers profiting off of music they don't make," said Ron Gubitz, Executive Director of the Music Artists Coalition. "When tickets to live events become a get-rich-quick scheme, fans get priced out. Concert tickets shouldn't be auction items. This bill makes sure live music stays about connection and community, not some commodity for brokers to flip for profit."

The consequences are being felt across California, particularly by independent venues and downtown nightlife districts already struggling with declining attendance. When fans overpay for one event, they cannot afford to attend others, weakening local music scenes and the small businesses that depend on them. And when most of the money spent by fans on a show goes to scalpers rather than artists and venues, the result is that artists struggle and venues close.

"Independent venues and nonprofit stages live and die by the trust we build with our audiences and the artists we host. When tickets are resold at outrageous prices, it shuts fans out, undermines artists' intentions, and harms the community spaces that give musicians a place to grow," said Joe Rinaldi, President of the National Independent Venue Association California Chapter and Owner & Managing Partner of The Music Box in San Diego. "These rooms are where tomorrow's headliners get their start, and they are also vital small businesses and economic contributors in communities across the state. Capping ticket resales is doing right for artists, fans, and the independent venues and nonprofit stages that make California's live music culture possible."

The bill allows for reasonable fan-to-fan resale by permitting a modest price increase, while stopping large-scale profiteering. If a person cannot make an event or changes their plans, they can still resell their ticket to another fan with a modest regulated price increase of no more than 10%. Similar policies have already been adopted in other states and countries like the United Kingdom, where resale caps have protected consumers and shifted tickets back into the hands of fans. The bill would apply to live events like concerts, comedy shows, and theatrical productions, but would not apply to sporting events.

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