AUGUSTA, Maine — The event giant Ticketmaster and resale sites including StubHub are locked in a national war that arrived in Maine this year but is moving toward a compromise that eased tension around a consumer protection bill.
Senate President Mattie Daughtry, D-Brunswick, put forward the measure cosponsored by numerous Democrats and Republicans that is now awaiting floor votes after a committee endorsed it last week. The measure set out to mimic laws in six other states that do not allow sellers to prevent buyers from transferring tickets to a third party.
That plan drew opposition from independent venues and local groups, such as the State Theatre and Portland Symphony Orchestra, while StubHub and a national consumer group backed it. The local venues argued the initial proposal would only benefit the large resale platforms while not cracking down on scalpers.
However, Maine’s independent venues are now on board after an amendment that took out the prohibition on transfer limits and added protections, such as requiring resellers to disclose fees up front, banning the use of fake websites and bots that circumvent online ticket limits and prohibiting resellers from adding more than 10 percent to the original ticket price.
Daughtry testified the amendment was needed in light of recent controversies with popular events, such as scams with tickets to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. She also said her measure would “guarantee that consumers are not left in a lurch.”
“We must take action to ensure that our constituents have a clear understanding of what they are paying for from the outset,” Daughtry said.
StubHub said Daughtry’s plan would help fight against a resale “monopoly” enjoyed by Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation Entertainment. The U.S. Department of Justice announced last year it is suing Live Nation and Ticketmaster for “monopolizing markets across the live concert industry.” StubHub and Live Nation have clashed for years over differences of opinions on ticketing legislation and resale policies.
Live Nation holds a dominant position in the concert and events industries, controlling tickets sales, venue ownership and artist management. Representatives did not provide testimony on Daughtry’s measure.
But Live Nation expressed support for Daughtry’s amended bill in a statement Thursday that praised it for banning “predatory speculative ticketing that scams fans and ensures all-in pricing across the purchase process so fans know the exact price of the ticket” up front.
“If passed, Maine will have some of the strongest pro fan and artist policies in the nation,” the California-based firm said.
It was not immediately clear how StubHub viewed the amended version. A StubHub spokesperson did not hide the company’s disdain for those competitors, asking lawmakers in his testimony on the initial bill to maintain ticket transfer limits for venues that are owned by the California-based Live Nation or using Ticketmaster for sales.
Lauren Wayne, president of the State Theatre, said the downtown Portland venue that can seat more than 1,800 people uses Ticketmaster for reselling its tickets but saw “bots” gobble up hundreds of tickets for its past five shows and seek to resell them at prices five to six times their face value. For the venue’s recently announced May 10 event featuring MSNBC host Rachel Maddow that is already sold out, Wayne said scalpers had 300 of the 1,300 tickets.
She nodded to how StubHub competes with Ticketmaster but focused on how misleading sales hurt fans and artists. Wayne also credited Daughtry and Rep. Cassie Julia, D-Waterville, the amendment sponsor, for hearing initial concerns from her and other venues and amending the legislation.
“It’s a really great thing for Maine fans,” Wayne said.
