Fix The Tix coalition voices strong opposition to BOSS ticketing bill

The Fix Tix has come out in strong opposition to the BOSS Act introduced in the U.S. Congress last week.

The Fix The Tix coalition includes NIVA, NITO, UMG, See Tickets, Dice, the RIAA, Wasserman, and other music industry heavyweights, though notably not Ticketmaster or Live Nation.

The recent Bruce Springsteen ticketing fiasco inspired the BOSS Act’s title, and its sponsors say it will increase transparency and bring regulation to what they describe as the “badly corrupted” live events ticketing industry.

But while Fix The Tix’s complaints about event ticketing aligns with much of the intention of the BOSS Act, they disagree strongly on the solution. In the coalition’s view, any bill must protect the rights of fans while also regulating scalpers and secondary ticket resellers.

Fix The Tix says that the BOSS Act will increase ticket prices, “enshrine deceptive practices like speculative tickets, and cause an even worse ticket-buying experience for true fans.” 

“While the BOSS Act provides some transparency for consumers,” the coalition said in a statement, “it does so in exchange for anti-fan and anti-artist handouts for scalpers and secondary ticketing platforms that do not contribute to the live entertainment ecosystem.”

Fix The Tix says it is working with Congress “to usher in meaningful and systemic reforms that will truly protect consumers.”

Full Fix The Tix statement

“Our coalition, representing every major constituency of the music and live events industry, supports legislation that truly safeguards consumers from price gouging, fake tickets, and ubiquitous deceptive practices by secondary sellers; provides transparency in ticket pricing; and restores integrity to the ticketing marketplace. 

We strongly oppose the BOSS Act as it would increase ticket prices, enshrine deceptive practices like speculative tickets, and cause an even worse ticket-buying experience for true fans.  While the BOSS Act provides some transparency for consumers, it does so in exchange for anti-fan and anti-artist handouts for scalpers and secondary ticketing platforms that do not contribute to the live entertainment ecosystem. Our coalition is currently working with Congress in a bipartisan manner to usher in meaningful and systemic reforms that will truly protect consumers.

The BOSS Act has been introduced in every Congress for more than a decade, and it has been opposed in every Congress by artists and those who pour their blood, sweat, and tears into producing shows that create lifelong memories for fans. We look forward to working with Congress in a bipartisan fashion with new ideas from artists, venues, promoters, performing arts centers, agents, managers, and fans to reform the ticketing industry.”

Bruce Houghton is the Founder and Editor of Hypebot, a Senior Advisor at Bandsintown, President of the Skyline Artists Agency, and a Berklee College Of Music professor.