When I passed extensive pro-consumer legislation two years ago on behalf of concert-goers, sports fans, and Broadway aficionados, I – along with all the many ticket-buying New Yorkers – was hoping that would be the end of manipulative ticketing practices. With the legislation I proposed – that was then signed into law – the industry was set to be completely overhauled, foreclosing many exploitative bullying practices.
A few things this omnibus bill encompassed: disclosing ticket face value upon resale; suppressing deceitful pricing schemes; and – what seems to be the most onerous rule for the industry to abide by – mandating “all-in” ticket pricing from the start. Just what it sounds like, no longer would the buyer have to click through page after page to discover that their $18 dollar ticket actually cost $36 dollars after a litany of fees. I had hardworking New Yorkers in mind when I introduced the legislation, and believed they would be protected when it was signed into law.
But the ticket industry is at it again.
A class action lawsuit was recently brought against popular ticketing platform SeatGeek for failing to comply with this New York law. While it’s SeatGeek under fire this time, many other ticketing companies, including Ticketmaster, have been flagrantly ignoring the new law. Simply put, they fail to show the true cost of ticket prices before customers choose a seat. The class action suit claims SeatGeek sold over 100,000 tickets failing to comply with the “all-in” regulation – just think about how many more tickets were sold on other platforms also failing to adhere to this law.
While the issue is in court, the fight is not over. I have been in contact with the courts hearing this case, and I will continue advocating for the hardworking New Yorkers until no one gets
