A Tennessee state legislator is planning to propose a law to limit the number of tickets a person can buy in the state, in an effort to thwart brokers from obtaining a large number of tickets for resale.
This week, Democratic State Rep. Gary Moore, reacting to dozens of Garth Brooks charity tickets ending up on resale sites, told WSMV-TV that he intends to propose the legislation, but he has not yet determined how much of a limit he will recommend. Ticket resale is legal in Tennessee, but the use of “bot software,” computer programs that surreptitiously scoop up large blocks of tickets, is prohibited.
Moore was integral to the passage of the bot legislation, and now he wants to go a step further. He believes that by limiting the number of tickets people can buy more regular fans will be able to obtain tickets.
Artists, generally through their ticketing company such as Ticketmaster, routinely limit the number of tickets an individual can purchase for an event, usually to four tickets. How Moore’s future proposal will be enforced, particularly to sporting events and season tickets, remains to be seen.
“The tickets are low enough that the individuals who are affected by the flood can have an opportunity to go,” Moore told WSMV-TV, referring to the Garth Brooks charity shows. “I think that was his intent, and here we are prohibiting some of those individuals from being able to go.”
Moore did not give a time frame for when he plans to propose the new legislation.
Many of the tickets to Garth Brooks’ Tennessee flood charity concerts have turned up on StubHub at more than 10 times the original asking price of $25. StubHub, in a sign of goodwill, has vowed to donate a portion of the proceeds it makes as a resale marketplace for the tickets back to the charity.
Music executive Scott Siman told WSMV-TV that StubHub’s decision to donate proceeds from the resale of those tickets is the least the company can do.
“First of all, I think it’s wrong to try and capitalize on the intense suffering the Nashville community went through with this flood. I don’t think it’s a PR opportunity for anybody; I think that’s completely wrong,” Siman said.
How much StubHub will donate was not disclosed. On a $275 transaction, which breaks down to a $250 resold ticket and $25 fee, the company makes an estimated total of $62, according to WSMV-TV, but StubHub did not say how much of that will go back to the charity.
“I can’t give you an exact number, as it varies on each transaction, and our profit margins are proprietary, but I can ensure you that StubHub isn’t taking one penny of these transactions,” StubHub spokesperson Glenn Lehrman said in a statement to the television station.