The D.C. Council gave final approval Tuesday to legislation cracking down on ticket scalping and other practices in the secondary ticket market, while also approving an amendment that removed a provision affecting fees charged by primary ticket sellers.
“It’s a great day,” Ward 6 council member Charles Allen said. “It’s going to help cap the amount that these third-party resale markets are trying to just gouge D.C. residents.”
Allen introduced the Restricting Egregious Scalping Against Live Entertainment or RESALE Act.
The bill would cap most live-entertainment ticket resales at 10% above face value, require upfront pricing and prohibit speculative ticket sales, surveillance pricing and other practices. It would also require that large-scale ticket resellers be licensed and bonded in the District.
“I think it’s an important step to protect District residents from unfair pricing and price gouging that we routinely see in the market,” Ward 5 council member Zachary Parker said.
The RESALE Act passed on a second vote after council members approved an amendment from Ward 2 council member Brooke Pinto, removing language that would have allowed the mayor to regulate fees on tickets sold directly to consumers through primary sellers such as Ticketmaster.
Pinto said she was concerned the provision could put D.C. at a competitive disadvantage.
“We are already competing in the region and along the East Coast and really across the country for these excellent performers, and we want to make sure that they come here and that we are supporting our local venues in the process,” she said.
In a letter to the council ahead of the meeting, Mayor Muriel Bower expressed similar concerns about the language regarding primary ticket sales.
“The sports and entertainment economy is central to DC’s economic growth strategy, and these new provisions will disincentivize artists and shows from coming to the District,” she wrote.
Allen said the legislation was always intended to focus on the secondary ticket market, where he believes consumers face the greatest harm.
The bill’s supporters included I.M.P., which operates the 9:30 Club, The Anthem, Lincoln Theatre and The Atlantis. According to Audrey Fix Schaefer, the company’s head of communications, I.M.P. has seen a surge in ticket scalping in recent years, with some tickets being resold for several times their original price.
She also said the practice hurts fans and local businesses by driving up costs and pulling money out of D.C.’s economy.
“People can’t go and see their favorite artist. They can only see one of them. They can’t go to five of them a year,” Schaefer said.
The Ticket Policy Forum, which represents companies in the ticket resale business, opposed the bill.
Executive Director Brian Berry said some parts of the measure would help consumers, but he argued the legislation could give Ticketmaster an advantage and make it harder to challenge the company’s dominance in the ticket market.
“The question has never been whether consumers deserve strong protections; they do,” Berry said. “The answer is greater transparency, stronger competition, and consistent rules that apply across the entire ticket ecosystem.”
Live Nation, which owns Ticketmaster, said it has “long advocated” for the reforms in the legislation.
“We applaud the D.C. City Council for protecting fans and artists by banning speculative ticketing, reaffirming all in pricing, and capping concert ticket resale prices. No one should be able to scam fans by listing tickets they don’t have or by pretending to be legitimate ticket sellers,” Kelly Flanigan, president of Live Nation’s D.C.-area concerts, said in a statement to WTOP.
The bill now heads to Bowser’s desk. If it receives the mayor’s approval and clears the required congressional review process, the law is expected to take effect in January.
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