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Taylor Swift-inspired ticket price transparency starts Jan. 1

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Published  December 13, 2024 9:03pm CST
Entertainment
FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul

Ticket price transparency law in effect Jan. 1 in MN

A new law will go into effect Jan. 1 in Minnesota that will add transparency to ticket pricing for consumers. FOX 9's Corin Hoggard has the latest.

The Brief

    • Minnesota’s new ticket price transparency law, effective Jan. 1, aims to eliminate hidden fees and combat bots that buy tickets in bulk, benefiting consumers and venues alike.
    • Inspired by Rep. Kelly Moller’s frustration with inflated prices during Taylor Swift ticket sales, the law requires upfront pricing on platforms like Ticketmaster and bans speculative sales.
    • While venues and artists appreciate the changes, enforcing the ban on foreign bots remains a challenge, prompting calls for a federal law modeled on Minnesota’s efforts.

The next time you buy tickets for a concert or a sporting event in Minnesota, you shouldn’t suffer sticker shock.

No sticker shock!

What we know: Minnesota passed a ticket price transparency law this year, and it takes effect Jan. 1.

Venues and artists seem to like the transparency and the ban on bots buying up tickets.

But enforcing that piece could be a challenge because of where the bots originate.

Starts with Swift

The backstory: On the floor of the Minnesota House sits a dedicated Swiftie.

"I just want to say happy birthday, Taylor Swift," Rep. Kelly Moller, (DFL-Shoreview), told Fox 9 on Swift's 35th birthday.

Rep. Moller celebrated Friday, but not back in 2023 when tickets to see the pop icon in Minneapolis went on sale.

She queued up for hours, but couldn’t get a ticket.

And she heard from friends who paid hundreds more than the advertised price. 

"That's so ridiculous," she said. "When you set a budget, and you don't really know what the cost of the ticket is going to be until the end when it's too late for a popular event."

HF 1989, Moller's version

The big picture: Thus was born H.F. 1989, Moller’s version.

"I think consumers are really going to notice a big change," said Sen. Matt Klein, (DFL-Mendota Heights), who carried the bill in the state senate.

You’ll notice the change on sites like Ticketmaster, SeatGeek, and StubHub.

When FOX 9 tried to buy tickets for the Gophers bowl game, they’re listed as low as $87.

If you add fees, it’s $128.

"That's going to go away," Sen. Klein said. "That's pretty obnoxious behavior."

Venues victimized

"We do see carts abandoned at that point in the purchase often," said Adrianna Korich, First Avenue’s ticket director.

She says the jump scare can convince some people to give up on buying tickets at all. So can bots buying up tickets, which is banned under the same new law, as are speculative sales where secondary sellers put tickets up for sale before they even acquire them.

Evading enforcement?

Dig deeper: But stopping foreign bots may be hard.

"This isn't John Doe down the street who bought a ticket and can't use it," Korich said. "These are big server farms and in other states they scoop up all the inventory listed on resale sites within minutes for insane price markups."

And while they like Minnesota’s law, there’s a patchwork of them across the country.

So most venues and artists would love to see a federal law modeled after Minnesota’s.
 

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