On Tuesday, Ward 6 councilmember Charles Allen announced new legislation aimed at protecting DC concertgoers from gouging and unfair practices on ticket resale sites. The bill is supported by 30 local venues, including the 9:30 Club, Howard Theatre, and Songbyrd, as well as the National Independent Venues Association (NIVA) and other groups.
The Restricting Egregious Scalping Against Live Entertainment Amendment Act, or RESALE Act, would put a price cap on resold tickets, ban the sale of speculative tickets, and require any individuals or businesses selling over 50 tickets a year to register with DC.
Resale prices would be capped at the face value of the ticket, plus up to ten percent. The act also calls for increased transparency from ticket issuers and secondary markets. For example, ticket issuers would be required to clearly and conspicuously show a ticket’s total price through each step of the transaction process, and would be prohibited from restricting ticket transfers unless those terms are communicated before purchase. They would also need to have reasonable technology in place to prevent bots from scooping up tickets.
Civil penalties of $5,000 per ticket for the first violation and $10,000 per ticket for any subsequent violations would be enforced.
The new legislation was announced at a press briefing at the Anthem, where Allen was joined by representatives from local venues and music industry organizations, local musician CJ Johnson, and the Office of the DC Attorney General.
“Right now, people who want to go to a live show in DC are competing against companies and scalpers who make a lot of money by immediately scooping up as many tickets as possible and re-selling them at a much higher cost than the venue or performer is asking,” Allen said in a press statement. “A $40 ticket could end up reselling for over $1,000.”
Ticket scalping has long been in a problem in DC, with scalpers grabbing everything from seats at a Washington Capitals game to free inauguration spots and free museum timeslots, then reselling the goods at a hefty new price. Maryland sought to address its own scalping problem last year by passing a law aimed at providing more transparency around ticket sales.
Last month, President Trump signed an executive order targeting scalpers while an American flag-bedecked Kid Rock stood by his side.
