Tickets, Baby, Tickets: that was the mantra of the ticket broker and reselling crowd at the Ticket Summit last week in Las Vegas. I was there to present on the legal and public policy issues of ticket reselling (with a focus on Internet sales).
The resale market for tickets is a great example of how markets work, because with event tickets it’s truly a case where supply and demand reigns supreme. But still, government regulation and the primary market have a large influence on how the resale secondary market operates.
I discussed three major influences — price caps, taxes and venue control.
Price caps–the amount you’re allowed to resell your ticket over face value — are on their way out, as legislators pretty much understand the economics of supply/demand.
Taxes are a different story, and are on the way in. A North Carolina bill (SB 1407) is the wave of the future I think – as states deregulate, they’ll think they need tax sales over face value. But general income tax laws still apply, so states and cities shouldn’t think they need a special tax (in North Carolina they call it a 3% “privilege tax”) just for tickets.
Venue control is also a growing force, and I discussed the legislative, licensing and technological ways venues can assert control over how a ticket is resold:
- Legislative – pass a bill that gives venues the statutory ability to prohibit resale of tickets for prices above face value (North Carolina had this in SB 1407).
- License – place resale restrictions on the back of a ticket (New England Patriots do this).
- Technology – institute electronic tickets that make it difficult or impossible to resell a ticket (see my post on how electronic tickets are not so convenient)
Overall, a free market in tickets is free of special taxes and allows consumers the ability to resell their tickets at any price. That’s the future I’m advocating for.
The Technology Liberation Front is the tech policy blog dedicated to keeping politicians' hands off the 'net and everything else related to technology.