NITO Backs NY Spec Ticketing Ban, Resale & Fee Caps

A bill making its way through the New York state legislature would bar speculative ticketing, limit secondary-market mark-ups and allow artists or venues to mandate face-value resales on their events.

Assembly Bill 8659/Senate Bill 8221 is the latest effort by a state government to do what Congress has thus far has been unable or unwilling to do: make comprehensive changes to the live-events ticketing system.

Specifically, the New York bill would require ticket resellers to register with the state and specifically bars speculative ticketing. It also limits mark-up on secondary tickets to a maximum of 25%, while also specifically allowing artists and venues to mandate that resold tickets be sold at face value, inclusive of fees.

The National Independent Talent Organization is urging lawmakers pass the bill.

“[S]peculative listings mislead fans into buying tickets that do not actually exist at the time of purchase, driving artificial scarcity and fueling inflated resale prices.
Eliminating this practice is essential for restoring integrity to the ticket-buying experience,” NITO said in a statement. “Equally critical is the bill’s inclusion of authority to establish resale price and fee caps, which would bring much-needed guardrails to a resale market currently dominated by bots and platforms that add extreme fees — often over 40% of the ticket price — to already-inflated listings.”

It’s still early days for the measure. It’s been introduced in both chambers and assigned to committee in the Assembly; it awaits further action in the Senate.