According to Rolling Stone, earlier today Maryland signed a new ticketing bill that is set to ban some of the live music industry’s most common deceptive ticketing practices, which are hidden fees and speculative ticket listings. Maryland governor Wes Moore signed the legislation earlier this afternoon, weeks after it first passed through the state’s senate.
Fees tacked onto ticket prices are one of the most difficult aspects of the buying process for some customers, while the fees themselves still stand with Maryland’s new law that requires an all in pricing system that can allow fans to see the complete price they will pay right away rather than sneaking in at the end of a purchase
Speculative ticketing is lesser known but misleading practice among ticket brokers and scalpers where they list tickets they do not actually possess on resale platforms like StubHub and Vivid Seats. Speculative ticketing’s most vocal critics have claimed the practice is akin to alleged fraud. As part of Maryland’s law, resale platforms caught selling spec tickets could incur penalties up to $10,000 for a first offense and $25,000 for each subsequent violation.
Maryland is not the only state pushing ticketing transparency bills because earlier this week, Minnesota passed the “Taylor Swift” bill, which establishes an all in pricing mandate and outlaws speculative ticketing.
Photo Credit: Mehreen Rizvi
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