Billie Eilish, Lorde, Green Day, and Fall Out Boy are among the hundreds of artists to sign an open letter asking Congress to pass the Fans First Act, a bill that takes aim at “deceptive” and “predatory” ticket resellers.
The letter, organized by the Fix the Tix Coalition, was also signed by a range of artists across all genres, from Becky G, Chappell Roan, and Darlene Love to Graham Nash, Goose, Pixies, and Finneas.
Addressed to Sens. Maria Cantwell and Ted Cruz — both members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation — the group said the bill would make ticket buying more transparent as well as eliminate illegal bots that “scoop up face value tickets ahead of fans in order to resell at inflated prices on the secondary market.”
“We are joining together to say that the current system is broken: predatory resellers and secondary platforms engage in deceptive ticketing practices to inflate ticket prices and deprive fans of the chance to see their favorite artists at a fair price,” the letter states.
“Predatory resellers have gone unregulated while siphoning money from the live entertainment ecosystem for their sole benefit. They use illegal bots, speculative ticket listings, and deceitful advertising, which cause real harm.”
The bipartisan bill was first introduced in December 2023 by seven U.S. senators, including Minnesota’s Amy Klobuchar, who said at the time, “Buying a ticket to see your favorite artist or team is out of reach for too many Americans. Bots, hidden fees, and predatory practices are hurting consumers whether they want to catch a home game, an up-and-coming artist or a major headliner like Taylor Swift or Bad Bunny. From ensuring fans get refunds for canceled shows to banning speculative ticket sales, this bipartisan legislation will improve the ticketing experience.” The bill was ultimately referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
The Fans First Act also seeks to strengthen enforcement of the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act, which both “prohibits the circumvention” of security and access measures used by online ticket sellers and prohibits the selling of any tickets “obtained through a circumvention violation”; despite passing in 2016, the bill has been rarely enforced.
The group adds that the Fans First Act provides artists with “more tools to combat predatory resellers and the use of illegal bots. The Fans First Act bans fake tickets and deceptive marketing tactics that trick our fans into paying more for tickets that may never get them into a show. And, it requires ticket sellers to show the full itemized price of a ticket from the moment a transaction begins. Even better, it backs all these regulations up with clear penalties and enforcement.”
“It is clear that all participants of the live event ecosystem, from artists to venues to fans, demand comprehensive ticketing reform and consumer protection against the predatory ticket resale practices that have deeply afflicted live entertainment in the United States,” Stephen Parker, executive director of the National Independent Venue Association — one of the groups behind Fix the Tix Coalition — said in a statement.
“The Fix the Tix Coalition is proud to deliver this critical call to action from artists whose fans experience the injustices of the resale market every show. And we hope their message resonates with Congress, as officials elected to protect their constituents and as Americans who simply love music. The time for comprehensive ticketing reform is now.”