A coalition of a few of New England’s largest artists, together with Noah Kahan, Aimee Mann, The Pixies, Goose and Dropkick Murphys, has written a letter calling on Massachusetts to approve just lately launched laws that might cap the quantity ticket scalpers can resell tickets.
“Dwell performances shouldn’t be a luxurious,” the 16 signing artists wrote on Wednesday. “Our artwork is just not a commodity that may be purchased and resold at excessive costs in opposition to our will. Individuals who contribute nothing to dwell efficiency ought to revenue not more than the artists, venues, crews and employees who carry these reveals to life.”
The letter comes every week after Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey introduced “The Nice Divide” legislation, the legislation itself named after Kahan’s newest album. Healey stated the legislation would cap resale costs at 110 p.c of the unique face worth, which means a $100 merchandise, for instance, may solely be resold for $110. The invoice would additionally cap charges for secondary ticketing websites and ban speculative ticketing, the follow by which brokers record tickets they do not have already got on the market.
“Few issues damage an artist greater than seeing a fan exploited by a ticket scalper,” the letter states. “It is heartbreaking to learn feedback from followers who’ve paid outrageous resale costs, figuring out there may be little we are able to do to assist them. Each artist signing this letter has felt this fashion. Predatory reselling, scalping, ticket promoting, no matter you wish to name it, does extra than simply financially exploit followers. It erodes belief between artists and the individuals who assist us.”
Kahan has been notably vocal in latest months in favor of ticket reform, lending his assist to each the Massachusetts invoice in addition to one other ticket legislation just lately handed in his neighboring dwelling state of Vermont.
Apart from artists, the invoice has gained assist from trade teams such because the Music Artist Coalition, the Nationwide Unbiased Expertise Group and the Way forward for Music Coalition.
“Artists and followers need the identical factor: a good probability to get into the room the place the music occurs,” Ron Gubitz, govt director of the Music Artists Coalition, stated in a press release. “Speculative tickets and runaway resale charges break this deal for everybody besides industrial-scale ticket flippers. The Nice Divide Act clearly attracts that line. Massachusetts, led by Governor Healey and Senator Fernandes, is main the nation with this robust set of reforms.”
The Massachusetts invoice displays an rising pattern in states throughout the nation in search of to fight ticket scalping. Maine launched value caps on resale tickets final 12 months, and California and New York additionally launched related payments this 12 months. Washington, DC, accepted a value cap final week.
Learn the total letter and record of signatories under:
We write as artists who imagine deeply within the energy of dwell efficiency. Reveals are locations the place households create recollections, the place younger individuals uncover who they’re, and the place whole rooms of individuals share one thing that may’t be recreated anyplace else. We wish these moments to be accessible to everybody, not simply those that can afford costs pushed by a damaged ticket resale market.
Dwell leisure shouldn’t be a luxurious. Our artwork is just not a commodity that may be purchased and resold at excessive costs in opposition to our will. Individuals who contribute nothing to dwell efficiency ought to profit not more than the artists, venues, crews and employees who carry these reveals to life.
Few issues damage an artist greater than seeing a fan taken benefit of by a ticket tout. It is heartbreaking to learn feedback from followers who paid outrageous resale costs, figuring out there’s little we are able to do to assist them. Each artist signing this letter has felt this sense. Predatory reselling, scalping, ticket promoting, no matter you wish to name it, does extra than simply financially exploit followers. This erodes belief between artists and the individuals who assist us.
We all know how a lot our followers give to be part of these moments. They plan, they save they usually present up. Our followers assist us with out hesitation and we owe it to them to defend a system that doesn’t exclude them.
Massachusetts is taking motion to guard our followers by capping resale at 110%, banning speculative tickets and cracking down on deceptive web sites. We respectfully ask Massachusetts lawmakers to face up for his or her constituents by defending equitable entry to dwell leisure and supporting these reforms.
Noah Kahan
Dropkick Murphys
The Pixies
Goose
Aimee Mann
Interact the Killswitch
The shadows fall
Stable for 4 years
New England Metallic and Hardcore Pageant
A lack of phrases
All that is still
Faulty mangoes
Marc Erelli
Melissa Ferrick
Burma Mission
Ryan Montbleau