MINNEOLIS — Minnesotans buying tickets online for concerts, sporting events and other live events will get more transparency under the so-called Taylor Swift bill signed into law by Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday. and protection.
Lawmakers frustrated by the inability to purchase tickets to Swift’s 2023 Minneapolis concert have created the law that would require ticket sellers to disclose all fees upfront, prohibit resellers from selling more than one ticket, and more measure. . The law would apply to tickets purchased in Minnesota or other states for concerts or other live events in Minnesota.
Waltz signed House File 1989 (a reference to Swift’s birth year and album of the same name) on First Avenue in downtown Minneapolis.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that we would be signing the House Files Act of 1989 on First Avenue,” said Democratic Rep. Kelly Moller, the bill’s lead author.
Mohler is in trouble after ticket sales company Ticketmaster’s systems crashed in 2022 due to overwhelming demand for Swift concert tickets and an attack by bots that tried to buy tickets for resale at inflated prices. One of thousands. The situation resulted in congressional hearings but no federal legislation.
Supporters of Minnesota’s new law say the state joins Maryland as one of a handful of states that will offer protections to ticket buyers.
Ticketmaster did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Minnesota’s new law. Taylor Swift’s media team also did not respond.
StubHub spokesperson Jessica Roey said in an email, “StubHub has long advocated for legislation to protect fans from anti-competitive and anti-consumer conduct during the ticket purchase process. We agree with HF1989 goals and look forward to continuing discussions with policymakers to advance policies that provide more transparency, more control and more choice for ticket buyers.”
Walz, a Democrat, said the new law is “protective so that you don’t get bad tickets, fraudulent tickets, and the dealers can’t snatch them all away before you get a chance.”
Two young girls attended the bill’s signing ceremony, one wearing a shirt that read “A lot is happening right now” in tribute to Swift, and the other wearing a shirt that read “Iowa 22” refers to basketball star Caitlin Clark. Father Mike Dean appeared in court this year to support the bill.
Dean said his daughter “came to me last December and said, ‘Dad, I want to go meet Caitlin Clark.'” As a father, I just couldn’t resist. So I went online to buy tickets. ”
Dean said the tickets were originally scheduled to total $300, but ended up costing more than $500 due to hidden fees. The timer had already started at the online checkout, so he only had a few minutes to decide whether to buy or lose his ticket.
In the end he bought the ticket. But Dean said these practices meant customers were unable to make informed decisions. He said the new law would bring transparency to the process.
The law takes effect on January 1, 2025, and applies to tickets sold on or after that date.
First Avenue Ticketing Director Adrianna Korich said she supports the new rules and said fans are sometimes tricked into paying because of deceptive websites and resellers listing tickets without actually owning them. Fees up to 10 times face value. The new law prohibits both, she said.
“We’ve all heard the horror stories from Taylor Swift’s Eras tour and seen the astronomical amounts charged at checkout,” Colic said.
Trisha Ahmed is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter): @TrishaAhmed15
This article was generated from automated news agency feeds without modifications to the text.