It’s a reason proponents of the Maryland legislation say Ticketmaster’s case is no longer valid. One of the last bills signed by President Barack Obama created a federal prohibition on the use of bots to amass hoards of tickets. “We are working tirelessly to combat bots,” Wernick said. Robert Wernick, vice president and senior counsel at Ticketmaster, said ticket restrictions are one strategy his company uses to thwart bots - the computer programs scalpers use to swoop down on a popular event when sales open and buy up hundreds of tickets to resell at a markup. Ticketmaster said the legislation would open the door to scalping. Jennings, who represents Baltimore and Harford counties. “I don’t think you should have to pay a fee to transfer a ticket,” said Senate Minority Leader J.B. The Virginia bill had bipartisan support, and the Maryland bill does, as well. “Technology is changing the ticket and event experience, and it can either change it to empower consumers or restrict rights most of us take for granted,” the Montgomery County Democrat said. House Majority Leader Bill Frick said he agreed to sponsor the House version of the bill after being approached by the Maryland Consumer Rights Center. “Why should Ticketmaster have a monopoly?” Feldman asked. That would let buyers resell tickets on such outlets as StubHub. Maryland lawmakers who favor the change believe they have new momentum because the Virginia General Assembly passed a similar bill this year.įeldman said the Maryland legislation would force a seller such as Ticketmaster to offer nonrestricted tickets to events for which they sell restricted tickets. Proponents have been trying to enact legislation to lift restrictions on ticket resales for the past several years. “I had to just eat the cost,” Schaefer said. So he didn’t mind shelling out $150 for a ticket to the Moondance Festival at Pimlico Race Course, where the artist who performs wearing a marshmallow head was a headliner.īut then Schaefer learned he had to work the night of the festival - and found himself stuck with a ticket in his name that he couldn’t sell or give away. Schaefer, 38, is a huge fan of electronic dance music, especially the artist known as Marshmello. In fact, Marylanders do not have such a right, as Sky Schaefer of Middle River can attest. freedom to transfer that ticket if they can’t make the event,” the Montgomery County Democrat said. “Most Marylanders, I believe, think they have a property right to that ticket and they have the. Brian Feldman, the bill’s Senate sponsor, said buyers face too many restrictions when they purchase tickets. For other events, tickets can be redeemed at venues only by showing the buyer’s credit card or some other identification, making it impossible to freely sell or give away those tickets. Ticketmaster allows some tickets to be resold, but only through a secondary market owned by the company. ![]() Under current law, the primary seller of tickets - Ticketmaster, in many cases - can impose restrictions on reselling or giving away tickets. The clash will come to a head Wednesday, when the legislation gets its first hearing before a Senate committee. Ticketmaster and its allies, including concert venues, say they want to protect fans from scalpers who snap up tickets with high-tech ticket-buying bots. Supporters of the bill say they are defending the rights of ticket buyers to sell or give away their own property. The proposed legislation has entertainment giant Ticketmaster on the defensive against competitors such as ticket resale website StubHub.īoth sides claim to be looking out for the consumer. State lawmakers will begin hearings this week on legislation that would prohibit companies from restricting the resale of tickets for entertainment and sporting events.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |