Maryland entertainment venues applauded state leaders last week when Gov. Wes Moore signed into law a first-in-the-nation bill to protect consumers from ticket scams.
The legislation, which will take effect July 1, 2024, will outlaw speculative tickets and hold ticketing platforms accountable for the validity of the tickets they sell. It is considered a victory for consumers, Maryland concert venues, artists and musicians.
Merriweather Post Pavilion celebrated the signing in a press release, giving special thanks to “Moore, State Senator Dawn Gile, Economic Matters Committee Chair Delegate C.T. Wilson, and Finance Committee Chair State Senator Pamela Beidle, as well as the leadership of the House and Senate, for their tireless efforts to stand up for Maryland consumers and stand up to ticket scalpers who use deceptive practices to gouge concert fans.”
The bill will:
- Outlaw the practice of advertising and selling “speculative” or fake tickets, whereby scalpers advertise sales for tickets they do not have, and may not be able to get in the future;
- Hold online resale sites like StubHub, SeatGeek, and others, accountable for selling or offering to sell Speculative tickets, with a $10,000 fine for a first infraction and $25,000 for each subsequent infraction, making Maryland the first state to implement such penalties;
- Conduct a review through the Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General’s Office to assess reselling activity in the event ticket marketplace. The review will also include comparing ticket costs in the primary vs. reseller markets and the problems buyers encounter in the resale market;
- Require transparent ticket pricing (“All-in” pricing) throughout the ticket-buying process; and
- Codify that tickets are a license.
“In addition to Governor Moore, Senators Gile and Beidle, and Delegate Wilson, we’re also grateful to Marylanders who spoke out and let their elected officials know that they want protection from parasitic scalpers who use acts of deception to gouge concert fans,” said Audrey Fix Schaefer, communications director of Merriweather Post Pavilion and I.M.P., in a statement. “Nearly 17,000 letters were sent by Marylanders to their state legislators, letting those in Annapolis know they want protection from the rampant deception and abuse that’s taking place now. We applaud the entire State legislature for this groundbreaking legislation, and we look forward to working with the Attorney General’s office to help ensure enforcement.”
Ron Legler, president of the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center, home of the historic Hippodrome Theater and newly renovated M&T Bank Exchange, originally expressed concern about the legislation when it was in its early stages.
In a comment on Baltimore Fishbowl’s Instagram post from March 2024 about the then-proposed law, Legler wrote that the bill would “upset a delicate ecosystem” and hurt the venues it sought to help. “It will force Artists to play DC and Philly without such restrictions,” he wrote, adding that the bill should only target the bad players and expressing his concern that the bill will cause ticket prices to skyrocket.
Legler is happy with the bill as it has evolved and has been signed, however. He told Baltimore Fishbowl that when he was expressing concerns in March, the bill had limitations he found troubling because it was written by people outside of the entertainment industry.
“There’s a lot that goes into our industry that they don’t realize,” Legler said. “They make a decision and then it has consequences. So, I believe very firmly that the artists should set their price. The producers should set the price of the ticket or the presenter, the people who have the skin in the game.”
In the bill’s earlier stages, however, it limited or removed the producers’ ability to set the price of their tickets.
“We do dynamically priced tickets. It’s an industry thing now like hotels and airlines,” Legler said. “So, as it gets closer, and as we get more sold out, the ticket price goes up because the demand goes up.”
He explained the earlier drafts of the bill removed that dynamic pricing ability from producers and venues (but not hotels and airlines, for example) and he foresaw financial consequences for Maryland and the industry as a competitor.
Legler is very happy with where the legislation is now, describing it as steps in the right direction. He said he is proud of Maryland state government for always looking out for the consumer, noting that the Hippodrome is a state-owned facility.
He described the pain and anger of a family arriving at the theater with invalid tickets and being turned away because the show is sold out. They may have even spent money on travel and hotels and vacation days to see that show, and there is nothing the venue can do if the show is sold out.
“We’re always going to want the patrons. We live here and we want people to keep coming back to have a great experience,” Legler said. “So, the shows will come and go, but we’re actually here to stay. And our biggest goal is to have people have a world-class experience inside of our building and want to come back to the building.”
As for tickets to shows at the Hippodrome, Legler recommends using the app, which is available in the app stores on Apple and Android phones. That way buyers can be sure they aren’t going through a scam website that has been designed to look just like a theater’s site. Merriweather Post Pavilion tickets can be purchased online through Ticketmaster and in person at several locations.
