The Fix The Tix Coalition, a campaign group set up by North American live entertainment and ticketing groups, has opposed the BOSS Act.
US Congressman Bill Pascrell Jr and House Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone Jr recently introduced the updated BOSS and SWIFT act legislation.
Fix The Tix was formed earlier this month, with 19 founding members including trade groups and companies that represent venues, promoters, agents, managers, the performing arts, artist and songwriter groups, recorded music, and independent ticketing companies.
Some of the organisations include the National Independent Venues Association (NIVA), Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP), American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) and more.
The coalition has now voiced its opinion on the BOSS and SWIFT act, which calls for all sellers to adhere to all-in pricing, clear disclosures of refund policies, and if the ticket is being offered as a primary sale or a secondary sale.
The legislation’s further changes in the primary market would include transparency on the total number and costs of tickets that will be offered for sale to the general public; preserving ticketing transferability and ensuring fans cannot be sanctioned for reselling a ticket.
Secondary market place reforms in the bill include clamping down on unauthorised speculative ticket sales; protecting consumers that receive tickets not matching the description of those purchased; disclosing to purchases when the secondary seller is the primary ticket seller, venue, team or artist associated with the event; prohibiting unauthorised insiders from selling tickets at marked-up prices and restricting resellers from selling the same seat to more than one person at the same time.
In a statement, Fix The Tix said: “Our coalition, representing every major constituency of the music and live events industry, supports legislation that truly safeguards consumers from price gouging, fake tickets, and ubiquitous deceptive practices by secondary sellers; provides transparency in ticket pricing; and restores integrity to the ticketing marketplace.
“We strongly oppose the BOSS Act as it would increase ticket prices, enshrine deceptive practices like speculative tickets, and cause an even worse ticket-buying experience for true fans. While the BOSS Act provides some transparency for consumers, it does so in exchange for anti-fan and anti-artist handouts for scalpers and secondary ticketing platforms that do not contribute to the live entertainment ecosystem. Our coalition is currently working with Congress in a bipartisan manner to usher in meaningful and systemic reforms that will truly protect consumers.”
The statement added: “The BOSS Act has been introduced in every Congress for more than a decade, and it has been opposed in every Congress by artists and those who pour their blood, sweat, and tears into producing shows that create lifelong memories for fans. We look forward to working with Congress in a bipartisan fashion with new ideas from artists, venues, promoters, performing arts centres, agents, managers, and fans to reform the ticketing industry.”