Ahead of new rules for Ontario (which come into effect this weekend), New York State passes its own laws around secondary ticketing

Come July 1, a slew of new rules will be introduced governing the sale of concert tickets in Ontario, the dumbest of which is the imposition of a price cap on the tickets sold on the secondary market. (I outline how it’s doomed to fail here.) Yet despite plenty of outcry by the ticketing industry, the touring industry and the general public, these new laws are set to come into effect.

On Monday (June 25) I was on TVO’s The Agenda as part of a panel that discussed all these issues.

Meanwhile, the New York State Legislature has expanded that state’s rules on ticketing. Here’s what’s new:

• Ticket resellers have to be upfront when they are selling tickets they don’t yet possess. This is called “speculative selling.” Brokers advertise tickets for shows that haven’t yet gone on sale because they’re positive that their contacts will be able to supply them. In other words, if you buy one of those tickets, you’re buying something that doesn’t yet exist. Buyer beware.
• If resellers can’t supply these ticket or at the advertised price, they have to provide a refund within ten days.
• The full cost of the ticket must be disclosed. That includes all fees upfront instead of several clicks through the transaction. “All-in pricing” is something the Canadian government imposed on airline tickets.
• Resellers will have to make it very, very clear that they are RESELLERS and not the primary source of the tickets.

Other jurisdictions like BC and Alberta are looking at the New York and Ontario situations very carefully. This isn’t over by a long shot.