Tennessee advances legislation to protect live entertainment fans from scalpers

House and Senate committees today advanced legislation that would make Tennessee the first state to protect fans buying tickets for performances at its live entertainment venues from unscrupulous professional ticket scalpers.

The Fairness in Ticketing Act is designed to make sure that online ticket resale marketplaces work for fans – not for scalpers who deceive and take advantage of them.  It must be approved by other committees and both houses of the Tennessee General Assembly to become law.

“Tennessee is a leader in entertainment and surely we can be a leader in protecting fans,” Pete Fisher, general manager of the historic Grand Ole Opry, stated to the House Business and Utilities Committee.

The proposal would require professional ticket scalpers to register with the state, disclose to prospective buyers the ticket’s original face value and be transparent about whether they have the tickets in hand they propose to sell.  It would crack down on use of websites created by scalpers that masquerade as the official sales site and lure many fans into paying prices higher than face value. 

The proposal is supported by more than 80 Tennessee live entertainment venues, sports teams, entertainers, artist managers and tour promoters.

Supporters say basic, common-sense regulations are needed to fix a ticket resale market increasingly dominated by out-of-state scalpers who operate anonymously on the web to take advantage of fans.

“The problems caused by out-of-state professional ticket brokers are a big-time problem for the Opry and Ryman Auditorium,” Fisher stated in the House Business and Utilities Committee. “Without rules in place that require simple disclosures, buyers often end up with no tickets on the day of the show or seats in a completely different location. Tennesseans should know that if they buy a ticket with their hard-earned dollars, they should get to see the game or the concert that they bought that ticket for.”

Members of the Fairness in Ticketing Act include: NFL Tennessee Titans, Tennessee Performing Arts Center, Country Music Association, NHL Nashville Predators and Bridgestone Arena, Orpheum Theater Memphis, FedExForum and NBA Memphis Grizzlies, the University of Tennessee (Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville and McKenzie Arena in Chattanooga), The Cumberland County Playhouse in Crossville, Knoxville’s Bijou and Tennessee theaters, Bristol Motor Speedway and Freedom Hall Civic Center in Johnson City.   Artist members include Kenny Chesney, Garth Brooks, The Black Keys, Eric Church, Jason Aldean and Dierks Bentley.

contact Lauren Weathers, lauren@tseic.com, Tennessee Sports & Entertainment Industry Coalition