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Maine Legislature approves bill to curb price gouging for concert tickets
Jun. 13—The Maine Legislature has passed a bill that performing arts venues say could help fans avoid scams, surprise fees and overpriced tickets.
LD 913 requires ticket sellers to clearly disclose all fees upfront. It also bans the use of bots to bypass ticket limits and fake websites that mimic real venues. It prohibits vendors from selling speculative tickets — tickets they don't already own or that haven't gone on sale yet — and requires resellers to issue refunds for counterfeit tickets.
The bill will now go to Gov. Janet Mills for consideration. She has 10 days to either sign the bill, veto it or allow it to become law without her signature. A spokesperson for her office on Friday did not say how she would act on this legislation.
"It just is really about keeping our creative economy dollars circulating locally," said Mollie Cashwell, director of the Cultural Alliance of Maine, which supported the bill.
Performing arts organizations of all kinds told lawmakers that their patrons are struggling to keep up with the secondary market.
Maggie LaMee, director of finance and administration at the Ogunquit Playhouse, said the theater regularly gets calls from patrons who are upset because they spent hundreds of dollars on a seat. The staff has to tell those callers that they were tricked into paying an inflated price through a reseller — the Ogunquit Playhouse didn't sell any tickets for the recent show of "Come From Away" for more than $160. And the extra money those patrons spent doesn't go to the local arts organizations or nearby businesses.
"This legislation addresses the deceptive practices that are harming the consumer and then also harming the venue," LaMee said.
Lauren Wayne, president of the State Theatre Presents in Portland, said bad actors use bots to scoop up hundreds of tickets at a time and then resell them for much more than their face value on websites that are made to look like the venue's. Even worse, the box office sometimes sees tickets that are just plain fake. At last year's sold-out Gracie Abrams concert, for example, Wayne said young women were crying outside the show when they realized their tickets were counterfeit. The State Theatre planned for scams and reserved seats for those fans, but the business and the artist had to eat the cost.
Should the bill become law, the Maine Office of the Attorney General could enforce violations as unfair trade practices. Anyone in violation could be subject to a civil penalty of no more than $5,000. A federal law is supposed to prevent automated bots from buying tickets, but concert promoters say it's rarely enforced. Wayne said she won't hesitate to turn to state officials instead.
"We'll be reporting all the violations that we know about, which we can easily find through our ticketing site and because we've been doing this for so long," Wayne said. "We have no qualms about having the attorney general's information handy and readily available to hand out at shows."
"Buying a ticket to see your favorite band or team shouldn't feel like navigating a trap," Senate President Mattie Daughtry, D-Brunswick, sponsor of the bill, said in a news release. "This legislation puts power back in the hands of consumers by ensuring transparency, banning deceptive practices, and protecting Mainers from scams. Maine people love live music and supporting our local Maine venues, which are the heart of so many of our communities. Everyone deserves to know what they're paying for — no surprises, no hidden fees, just fun."
The Housing and Economic Development Committee worked with arts organizations on the amended version that passed both chambers of the Legislature this week.
"LD 913 will be a meaningful step toward preserving Maine's rich, independent live events culture and protecting the venues, artists, and fans that make it special," said Rep. Cassie Julia, D-Waterville, who sponsored the committee amendment.
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