Support Grows for Sens. Cruz, Cantwell’s Fan-Friendly TICKET Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As everyone from Swifties to seamheads voice frustration with hidden fees on tickets for concerts and baseball games, support from consumer advocacy groups, key ticket-industry entities, and fans is growing for the TICKET Act, bipartisan and bicameral legislation that would require all event ticket sellers to display the total ticket price—including all required fees—in any advertisement or marketing materials.

Following the introduction of the TICKET Act, Live Nation, Ticketmaster, and SeatGeek appeared at the White House where they committed to following the all-in pricing model that Senators Cruz and Cantwell advocate for in the TICKET Act.

Here are additional notable statements in support of the TICKET Act:

National Consumers League

“The bipartisan TICKET Act is a long overdue solution to help fix some of the worst aspects of a ticket-buying process that is rigged against fans. We applaud the leadership of Senator Cruz and Senator Cantwell for championing this important consumer protection legislation.” – John Breyault, Vice President of Public Policy, National Consumers League

StubHub

“We commend Senators Cruz and Cantwell for introducing this important legislation and look forward to working with the Senators and the Committee to achieve a strong national standard for price transparency in the ticketing industry.” – Laura Dooley, Head of Global Government Relations, StubHub

iHeart Media

“Lately we’ve seen well-publicized pricing issues in the concert ticket market. Music fans, eager to see their favorite artists perform, often incur surprise charges and fees that aren’t included in the advertised ticket price. The end result is that the consumer feels like they have been taken advantage of and the artist unfairly receives the reputational backlash. iHeartMedia supports the ‘Ticket Act’ because it requires concert ticket pricing transparency and can prevent many of these consumer harms.” – Jessica Marventano, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, iHeart Media

National Association of Consumer Advocates

“The TICKET Act promises needed transparency on event ticket prices and availability. The TICKET Act introduced by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), will help ensure that consumers are provided with more upfront and accurate information about ticket prices and availability, and rightly aims to deter violations with federal enforcement.” – Christine Hines, Legislative Director, National Association of Consumer Advocates

Consumer Action

“Consumer Action supports the Ticket Act’s mandate that all fees must be revealed upfront--when a consumer begins to purchase a ticket to a concert, show or sporting event.  Senators Cantwell and Cruz’s bill will help eliminate the ‘gotcha’ practice that consumers experience when assorted and often unnecessary junk fees are tacked on to the tail end of a ticket purchase.  The Ticket Act also requires sellers to disclose when they are selling tickets that they do not actually possess. This bill helps consumers make a more informed choice.” – Ruth Susswein, Director of Consumer Protection, Consumer Action

Coalition for Ticket Fairness (CTF)

“CTF would like to applaud Senators Cantwell and Cruz for their introduction of the TICKET Act. We support the bill and its focus on transparency in ticket pricing. Empowering fans with this kind of information is essential to creating a better ticket buying experience. We look forward to advocating for the TICKET Act and other future ticketing bills that promote ticket fairness.”

TickPick

“We applaud the Senators Cruz and Cantwell for their leadership, their bipartisan approach and look forward to working with them as the Committee looks to further advance the TICKET Act in a way that is implementable.” – Michele Rusnak, Chief Finance and Administrative Officer, TickPick

Vivid Seats

“[W]e stand firmly with fans and support legislation that protects transferability and provides greater disclosure and transparency so that fans know exactly what they are paying for when they purchase a ticket. We believe that the TICKET Act is an important step forward in that pursuit.” – Ryan Fitts, Vice President & Deputy General Counsel, Vivid Seats

National Association of Ticket Brokers

“There is no doubt that increased transparency in ticketing is warranted and that it should apply equally to all ticket sellers from most powerful to the smallest. Focusing on enhanced price disclosure and speculative ticket transparency as The TICKET Act does is step in the right direction toward fixing what is broken in ticketing ” – Gary Adler, Executive Director, National Association of Ticket Brokers

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