New York State’s plan to allow free-market ticket resale to continue for another year has hit a snag because Gov. David Paterson has yet to sign the bill.
The vote in the legislature was a resounding 133-9, which indicates the overwhelming bipartisan acceptance of allowing ticket brokers and others to continue reselling tickets for whatever the market will bear. However, politics seems to have crept into the process as the governor’s office and legislative leaders now hammer out some last-minute additions and language changes. New York’s extension of the free market expired June 1, but legislators had voted to approve the extension that day, and Paterson was expected to sign it soon after.
With Paterson’s delay, the old anti-scalping law technically is now in effect, which means tickets cannot legally be resold for more than $2 above face value. That law, however, was rarely enforced, and because the vote was virtually veto-proof, it is not expected to stay in effect for very long.
According to published reports, among the sticking points seem to be the language surrounding a provision that would prohibit companies like Ticketmaster Entertainment from redirecting fans from its Web site to its TicketsNow broker subsidiary Web site, which sells tickets for higher prices.
Ticketmaster has been criticized for the practice, which it has vehemently denied doing, and the company settled complaints about it in New Jersey with Attorney General Anne Milgram.
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From the AP:
“In the bill that Mr. Paterson and legislative leaders are negotiating, that cap is gone. But the leaders are trying to end a price-inflating practice in which ticket sellers redirect customers to companies and Web sites that they own — but that resell tickets at big markups.
The bill describes the practice as “wholesale off-loading of tickets … without any chance for the public to purchase tickets at first sale.” The bill passed by the Legislature would also require the venue operator or promoter to determine and disclose if the ticket is for a seat that may have an obstructed view.”
– It’s nice to see there’s ONE group of legislator’s who realize what the problem is and that it’s isolated to primary ticket companies engaging in market manipulation in both the primary and secondary markets, and that this practice is NOT indicative of either the primary or secondary markets as a whole. Now, if only Congress realizes that as well…
STUB HUB AND TICKETS SHOULD BE OF ARENT THEY BREAKING THE LAW AND THEY ARE PUBLIC COMPANIES IN ADDITION