65,000 letters for the “Fix the Tix Day of Action”

The National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) led a day of action by the Fix the Tix Coalition, which resulted in over 65,000 letters being sent to Congress calling for comprehensive ticket reforms and passage of the Fans First Act (S. 3457).

Artists from across the live event sector, including Finneas, Billie Eilish, Underoath, Andrew McMahon, Something Corporate, Graham Nash, Shawndrell, Dave Alvin, Blind Boys of Alabama, Bobby Rush, Del McCoury Band, The Gimme Gimmes, Suzanne Vega, Cowboy Junkies and others, urged their fans to call on Congress to fix the country’s broken ticket ecosystem.

The community sent more than 65,000 letters and messages to members of Congress and the White House, urging them to take action against counterfeit tickets, misleading advertising and hidden costs when purchasing concert tickets.

“It’s clearer than ever that the consumers, fans and artists who make up this country’s live event industry will not stand idly by while predatory resellers control our ticket purchasing experience,” said Stephen Parker, executive director of NIVA. “This week’s actions send a clear message to Congress that the time for comprehensive ticket reform is now.”

“This country needs laws that ban counterfeit tickets, end price gouging and criminalize misleading marketing tactics. And consumers will not stop advocating for clear protections against fraud and deception until trust and transparency are restored.”

Digital music news recently reported on ticket smugglers who cracked Ticketmaster’s “non-transferable” ticketing system – allowing third-party sellers to bypass Ticketmaster’s supposed anti-smuggling protections. These smugglers operate parallel ticketing systems that duplicate the functionality of the Ticketmaster app, according to a lawsuit filed by AXS against the smugglers.

Fix the Tix says it’s not too late to make your voice heard, even if you didn’t participate in the day of action. Anyone who cares about ticket sales can contact their senators, congressmen and the White House in less than a minute by visiting the Fix the Tix website.

The coalition is led by NIVA and Eventbrite. More than 30 organizations from the live music and event industry are part of the organization. Venues, promoters, producers, artists, agents, managers and independent ticket companies are represented.