California Considers Capping Concert Ticket Resale Prices: A Win for Fans?
California Assemblyman Matt Haney introduces a bill to cap concert ticket resale prices, aiming to protect fans from inflated costs and empower artists.
California could be the next state to regulate the resale of concert tickets. Assemblyman Matt Haney has introduced the California Fans First Act, also known as AB 1720, which proposes capping resale prices at no more than 10% above the original face value.
This bill targets concert, theater, and comedy tickets, excluding sports events. It aims to curb excessive resale prices driven by bots and brokers, ensuring fairer access for fans and protecting artists' work.
"It is about the astronomical cost of resale that is being driven by bots and [ticket] brokers who are exploiting a scheme to leech off the work of artists," Haney tells Billboard.
The California Fans First Act has garnered support from the state's independent venue coalition, NIVA CA, as well as the nationwide National Independent Venue Association and the Music Artists Coalition. These organizations have been advocating for similar measures across the country.
Maine successfully passed a similar resale cap in 2025, limiting resale value to 110% of the face value. New York, Vermont, Washington, Tennessee, and Washington, D.C. are also considering similar legislation.
Rob Gubitz, executive director of the Music Artist Coalition, believes that a resale ticket cap would "remove the profit motive" for ticket brokers. By limiting markups to 10%, the incentive for professional resellers to flip tickets diminishes significantly.
The bill also aligns with efforts to combat speculative ticketing and deceptive websites, as outlined in AB 1349. This existing bill aims to prevent the sale of tickets that resellers don't actually possess and to outlaw websites that mimic official venue or primary seller sites.
Joe Rinaldi, president of NIVA CA and owner of the Music Box in San Diego, emphasizes that AB 1720 complements the existing work on AB 1349. "We want customers to have confidence that they’re buying from the source and they’re not going to have an absolute nightmare on date night. That confidence starts with fixing the marketplace with these two pieces of legislation."
Stephen Parker, executive director of NIVA, notes that eight states, including California, have introduced resale cap bills this year, signaling an "organic movement" despite heavy lobbying from secondary platforms. The success of similar measures in Maine, Europe, and Australia further fuels this push.
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