Tenn. considers new ticketing legislation

Residents of Tennessee may soon have a new law in place that would help to prevent another Hannah Montana ticket crisis from occurring.

Responding to the complaints of his constituents, Tennessee State Rep. Gary Moore has proposed a bill that would crack down on the use of software “bots,” technology used to purchase large blocks of tickets. In an interview with the Nashville City Paper, Moore said that mothers contacted him, telling him that they had waited in line for tickets to see Hannah Montana, only to be told that the tickets were sold out mere seconds after the tickets went on sale. “They stood in line and they were the second person in line to buy tickets, and they get to the window and they’re sold out,” Moore said. “Now there’s something wrong with this picture.”

Unfortunately, what Moore’s bill doesn’t address is the action of promoters, venue operators and others who withhold tickets and only make a percentage of seats available to the public.

Moore’s proposed bill is just one of several similar bills being proposed in various states. Following the use of the technology to purchase blocks of tickets, those same tickets often end up on ticket resale websites, such asStubHub, but in comments to the Nashville City Paper, StubHub spokesperson Sean Pate made it clear that the website does not endorse the use of such technology, but that the site cannot police how their sellers buy their tickets.

Should Moore’s bill become law, anyone found to have used software bots would face charges of a Class B misdemeanor, which would be punishable by a $500 fine for every ticket purchased unfairly or a fine in the amount for which the ticket was resold for- whichever is higher. The bill will next head to the state House Judiciary Committee for a hearing.