Concert Going in Connecticut Might Change...
Newch91
Posts: 17,560
http://www.courant.com/news/politics/hc ... 1602.story
Entertainment Venues Oppose Legislative Bill On Ticket Sales, Saying It Limits Choices
By AMANDA FALCONE
April 12, 2010
HARTFORD —
A dozen entertainment venues are joining forces to fight a bill that would set rules for ticket sales.
The bill's intent is to protect the consumer and provide industry transparency by requiring certain ticket sales information to be shared with the public and by forcing entertainment operators to allow season ticket holders to resell their tickets. The bill would also punish those who try to go around online security measures to get better access to tickets.
It is supported by the secondary ticket market.
Opponents say the bill, which the judiciary committee is expected to tackle today, is well intended but would limit entertainment choices in Connecticut.
Jim Koplik, chairman of the Northeast region for Live Nation, has promoted concerts in Connecticut for 40 years. He said a provision in the bill would cause top performers to bypass the state, which already has difficulty attracting top names because of its proximity to New York City and Boston. Concert venues won't want to disclose how they allocate their tickets, he said.
Koplik was referring to the provision that would require entertainment venues with more than 3,000 seats to inform the general public of the total amount of tickets available for an event, the number of tickets released for sale to the public, and the number of unavailable tickets within two days after tickets go on sale.
It is this provision that upsets venues the most. If fewer performers come to Connecticut, venues will suffer and fewer union crews and stagehands will have jobs, said entertainment venue executives. They argue that the state's economy, as a whole, will also suffer, because consumers will spend more money out of state.
Online ticket brokers will benefit, they say, by having access to information that would allow them to accelerate price gouging, which would lead to an increase in sales, venues say.
The legislature should "just stay out of the business," said David Fay, president and chief executive office of the Bushnell Center of the Performing Arts.
No other state asks entertainers to open up the way they do business, Koplik said. "It's something that would isolate Connecticut," he said.
Artists give tickets to sponsors and VIPs, Koplik said. The public could get mad if they see who gets tickets and artists won't want to deal with the backlash, he said, noting that his position would change if it was a federal proposal, because federal laws would apply to all states.
Donald Vaccaro is chief executive officer of Ticket Network, an online ticket exchange company based in Vernon. He supports the bill and said he wants to see consumers protected in an open market place.
People have a right to know what their chances of getting tickets are, Vaccaro said. For example, he said, the statistics would have been helpful when people were having trouble buying tickets to the November 2009 Miley Cyrus concert at the XL Center.
Cyrus' concert was also mentioned in the back and forth about the bill's second provision. Entertainment operators would not be allowed to restrict season ticket packages or subscription resales as a condition of purchase, and the operators would not be able to deny access to someone who has a resold season ticket. New York already has a similar law.
Koplik said the new rules would make selling paperless tickets, which were used for Cyrus' concert, difficult. Paperless tickets cannot be resold because the credit card used to make the original purchase would have to be shown at the door, he said.
Vaccaro, however, said the provision is one step in ensuring an open market. People should have a right to sell their tickets, he said, describing the legislation as a fans' bill of rights.
Vaccaro does not favor the bill's final provision but said he would not fight it. The provision would ban the use or sale of software designed to circumvent security measures used to ensure equitable purchasing. Violating the ban would be a Class D felony, punishable by up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.
There are federal laws that deal with this issue, said Vaccaro, adding that his company does not use such software.
Not surprisingly, venues do not oppose the provision, but they do wonder why it's necessary. It's the one piece of the bill that is anti-online scalping, Fay said, but he added that the industry can combat scalping on its own.
The bill, proposed by Rep. Jim Shapiro, D-Stamford, already passed the general law committee 16-3. Shapiro, the committee's chairman, could not be reached for comment, but his co-chairman, Sen. Thomas Colapietro, D-Bristol, said he expects the bill to succeed.
"What it does is protect the consumer a little bit more," Colapietro said.
The bill comes just three years after Connecticut changed its law to allow ticket resales. The state, however, still prohibits the reselling of tickets on the day of an event within 1,500 feet of the venue.
Entertainment Venues Oppose Legislative Bill On Ticket Sales, Saying It Limits Choices
By AMANDA FALCONE
April 12, 2010
HARTFORD —
A dozen entertainment venues are joining forces to fight a bill that would set rules for ticket sales.
The bill's intent is to protect the consumer and provide industry transparency by requiring certain ticket sales information to be shared with the public and by forcing entertainment operators to allow season ticket holders to resell their tickets. The bill would also punish those who try to go around online security measures to get better access to tickets.
It is supported by the secondary ticket market.
Opponents say the bill, which the judiciary committee is expected to tackle today, is well intended but would limit entertainment choices in Connecticut.
Jim Koplik, chairman of the Northeast region for Live Nation, has promoted concerts in Connecticut for 40 years. He said a provision in the bill would cause top performers to bypass the state, which already has difficulty attracting top names because of its proximity to New York City and Boston. Concert venues won't want to disclose how they allocate their tickets, he said.
Koplik was referring to the provision that would require entertainment venues with more than 3,000 seats to inform the general public of the total amount of tickets available for an event, the number of tickets released for sale to the public, and the number of unavailable tickets within two days after tickets go on sale.
It is this provision that upsets venues the most. If fewer performers come to Connecticut, venues will suffer and fewer union crews and stagehands will have jobs, said entertainment venue executives. They argue that the state's economy, as a whole, will also suffer, because consumers will spend more money out of state.
Online ticket brokers will benefit, they say, by having access to information that would allow them to accelerate price gouging, which would lead to an increase in sales, venues say.
The legislature should "just stay out of the business," said David Fay, president and chief executive office of the Bushnell Center of the Performing Arts.
No other state asks entertainers to open up the way they do business, Koplik said. "It's something that would isolate Connecticut," he said.
Artists give tickets to sponsors and VIPs, Koplik said. The public could get mad if they see who gets tickets and artists won't want to deal with the backlash, he said, noting that his position would change if it was a federal proposal, because federal laws would apply to all states.
Donald Vaccaro is chief executive officer of Ticket Network, an online ticket exchange company based in Vernon. He supports the bill and said he wants to see consumers protected in an open market place.
People have a right to know what their chances of getting tickets are, Vaccaro said. For example, he said, the statistics would have been helpful when people were having trouble buying tickets to the November 2009 Miley Cyrus concert at the XL Center.
Cyrus' concert was also mentioned in the back and forth about the bill's second provision. Entertainment operators would not be allowed to restrict season ticket packages or subscription resales as a condition of purchase, and the operators would not be able to deny access to someone who has a resold season ticket. New York already has a similar law.
Koplik said the new rules would make selling paperless tickets, which were used for Cyrus' concert, difficult. Paperless tickets cannot be resold because the credit card used to make the original purchase would have to be shown at the door, he said.
Vaccaro, however, said the provision is one step in ensuring an open market. People should have a right to sell their tickets, he said, describing the legislation as a fans' bill of rights.
Vaccaro does not favor the bill's final provision but said he would not fight it. The provision would ban the use or sale of software designed to circumvent security measures used to ensure equitable purchasing. Violating the ban would be a Class D felony, punishable by up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.
There are federal laws that deal with this issue, said Vaccaro, adding that his company does not use such software.
Not surprisingly, venues do not oppose the provision, but they do wonder why it's necessary. It's the one piece of the bill that is anti-online scalping, Fay said, but he added that the industry can combat scalping on its own.
The bill, proposed by Rep. Jim Shapiro, D-Stamford, already passed the general law committee 16-3. Shapiro, the committee's chairman, could not be reached for comment, but his co-chairman, Sen. Thomas Colapietro, D-Bristol, said he expects the bill to succeed.
"What it does is protect the consumer a little bit more," Colapietro said.
The bill comes just three years after Connecticut changed its law to allow ticket resales. The state, however, still prohibits the reselling of tickets on the day of an event within 1,500 feet of the venue.
Shows: 6.27.08 Hartford, CT/5.15.10 Hartford, CT/6.18.2011 Hartford, CT (EV Solo)/10.19.13 Brooklyn/10.25.13 Hartford
"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
0