Those dreaming of a repeat Taylor Swift Eras Tour may soon have even more reason to wish for one. The DC Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to pass the Restricting Egregious Scalping Against Live Entertainment (RESALE) Act, which implements key protections for consumers when buying tickets for live music and theatre. In effect: concert’s tickets should get a lot cheaper.
“This is without a doubt the most pro-fan, pro-consumer piece of legislation in the country,” councilmember Charles Allen, who introduced the bill, said at the Wednesday Council hearing.
Audrey Fix Schaefer, communications director for I.M.P., the concert promotion and production company behind beloved DC haunts like the 9:30 Club, The Anthem, and Lincoln Theatre, was the one who originally approached Allen about the bill. She says that ticket scalpers and predatory practices harm everyone involved in the industry:
“It harms the fans who are getting completely gouged,” she says. “It harms venues like ours because if you spend $500 on what should be a $50 ticket, that’s theoretically nine shows you’re not going to. And so that’s nine artists that you are not helping with their career.”
Here’s everything you need to know about some of the key elements of the legislation.
The 10-percent price cap
The bill prohibits resellers from selling tickets any more than 10 percent over face value. This inherently limits the amount of money resellers can make off of tickets, and Schaefer says this will be a huge benefit for fans, particularly when bigger artists come to town.
“Let’s say Beyoncé comes to Capital One Arena,” she says. “People will actually be able to afford the tickets instead of what happened when she was on tour before—people flew to Europe. […] It was cheaper for some people to get on a plane, get hotel rooms and meals there, and the ticket than to just stay in town. And that’s because the scalpers got in between the artist and the fans.”
Upfront pricing
The RESALE Act requires platforms to show everything a customer is paying all at once, including fees, when selecting their tickets. This concept is not entirely new—the FTC began requiring that all mandatory fees and charges be included in the total price for live-ticketing events in May of last year. The practice is often called “all-in” or “upfront” pricing.
No surveillance pricing
Ticket sales platforms are also banned from using surveillance pricing under the RESALE Act. Surveillance pricing is when a website uses a consumer’s personal information, including location, demographics, and even mouse movements to set individualized pricing. Allen explained that the practice is predatory and inherently harms all consumers.
“If we were all purchasing the same ticket to the same concert, we might all get different prices,” Allen said during the council meeting. “It’s fundamentally unfair.”
Allen, alongside fellow Councilmembers Christina Henderson and Brianne Nadeau, placed an amendment on the RESALE Act clarifying that limitations on surveillance pricing do not prohibit discounts or special tickets for large groups, like seniors or students.
No selling tickets you don’t have
Under the bill, resellers will not be able to sell tickets they do not yet have—a practice called speculative ticket sales. This provision will ensure that fans actually end up with tickets—and tickets for the correct seats.
High-volume scalpers must register with the city
Resellers who list 50 or more tickets in a year will now have to register with the city for a license, providing their full contact details. Those individuals will be placed on a public list of licensed retailers.
These resellers will also maintain a surety bond with the city of $25,000—this will serve as a safeguard in the case that the reseller does not deliver the tickets or engages in fraud, and would cover compensation for lost funds by the consumer, including travel expenses.
“That will help with accountability,” Schaefer explains.
Before the RESALE Act goes into effect—which is expected in January 2027—it needs to be signed by the Mayor and pass a 30-day congressional review. Then, say hello to cheaper tickets—it’s been a long time coming.
