California Proposes Capping Ticket Resales at 10% of Face Value

Photo Credit: Renny Chan

California Assemblyman Matt Haney introduces a bill that would cap ticket resales for concert, theater, and comedy events at 10% above face value.

California Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) today introduced a bill to cap the resale of concert and live event tickets at no more than 10% above face value. The California Fans First Act (AB 1720) aims to curb price gouging by resale platforms and ticket brokers to ensure live events—including concerts, theater, and comedy—remain accessible for fans.

“For decades, concert tickets were sold at face value to fans who wanted to see the artists they loved,” said Haney. “But today, professional scalpers and bots buy up tickets in seconds and resell them at massive markups. This bill puts an end to that system and puts the concert experience back where it belongs: with fans and artists.”

Ticket buyers regularly pay more than double the face value price on the secondary market, with tickets for the most in-demand events—like Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour or Oasis’ reunion tour—being resold for several times their original price. While some critics have argued that tickets should cost whatever fans are willing to pay, even artists who intentionally keep prices accessible for fans still report thousands of their tickets resold on the secondary market at markups of over 300%.

“Concert tickets aren’t stocks to be flipped for profit. They’re a chance for real fans to see the artists they love. Yet for years we’ve let out-of-state scalpers and speculators cut the line, buy up tickets in bulk, and resell them at outrageous markups—shutting out fans while taking the lion’s share of the money. They didn’t write the songs, they didn’t build the venues, they didn’t clean the bathrooms, they didn’t put on the show. But they’re the ones cashing in. That’s not fair, and it’s not inevitable,” Haney continued.

“California is the heart of the music industry, and we have a duty to stand with fans, artists, and venues, not speculators and scalpers. This is about restoring common sense and making sure live music is about community and culture, not price gouging and profiteering.”

Haney’s bill comes at a pivotal time for the ticket industry. News of the ticket resale scheme unveiled amid the Epstein files this week and the Grammys’ Best New Artist Award winner Olivia Dean using her acceptance speech to criticize the rampantly unchecked secondary market have fanned the flames.

“Artists want fans in the room, not bots and brokers profiting off of music they don’t make,” said Ron Gubitz, Executive Director of the Music Artists Coalition. “When tickets to live events become a get-rich-quick scheme, fans get priced out. Concert tickets shouldn’t be auction items. This bill makes sure live music stays about connection and community, not some commodity for brokers to flip for profit.”

The California Fans First Act would work alongside another bill introduced in the state legislature last year, AB 1349. That bill aims to outlaw speculative ticketing “whereby people advertise tickets for sale on a resale platform that they neither own nor are guaranteed to get.” It would also ban the use of deceptive URLs and website designs that use dark patterns through search engine optimization to direct fans away from the venue or primary seller’s website.