The FTC’s Potemkin Ticketing Workshop

Last Tuesday, July 11th, 2019, the Federal Trade Commission held a workshop in Washington, D.C. on live event ticket distribution. Ostensibly it was to seek information from participants from across the ticketing ecosystem: primary and secondary ticket markets, brokers, trade organizations, consumer advocates, economists and attorneys.

More than 6,000 consumers and other interested parties submitted comments to the FTC. Four separate panels were presented on which sat senior executives from all across the industry and all over the country. I, myself, flew from California to be there and so I could better analyze the tenor of the room.

After a long day, we all left. My impression was the FTC had an anti-industry agenda as revealed by the comments of Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter. She opened the workshop with a speech which built to her conclusion ticket prices were “opaque and deceptive.” She then warned the markets better “fix that or be on notice” the government would. I don’t think any experienced person left the room that day under the misimpression the FTC was pleased with how tickets are distributed, priced or marketed.

Still, I was caught flat-footed when three days later the BOSS ACT (Better Oversight of Secondary Sales and Accountability in Concert Ticketing) was introduced into Congress. It’s no coincidence the…