Billie Eilish, Green Day and other artists back bill that would reform live-event ticketing system
Billie Eilish, Green Day and Dave Matthews are among the 250 artists who signed a letter urging the Senate Commerce Committee to support the Fans First Act.
Over 250 popular musicians — including Billie Eilish, Green Day and Dave Matthews — signed a letter Thursday urging the Senate Commerce Committee to support a bill that aims to reform the live-event ticketing system.
The Fans First Act, which was introduced and referred to the Commerce Committee in December, hopes to remedy three major issues in the ticketing industry: ticket transparency, consumer protection and preventing bad actors from charging exorbitant resale prices. It is one of several bills introduced in recent years aimed at combating unfair ticketing practices, including the BOSS and SWIFT Act and the TICKET Act.
Fix the Tix, a coalition of live event industry organizations spearheaded by the National Independent Venue Association and Eventbrite, organized the letter, which was addressed to Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, the ranking member.
Other artists who signed include: Cyndi Lauper, Jason Mraz, Lorde, Sia, Train, Fall Out Boy, Graham Nash, Becky G and Chappell Roan.
Discontent toward the ticketing industry, especially Ticketmaster, reached a fever pitch in recent years. Fans sued Ticketmaster in 2022 after the company struggled to keep up with the demand for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. The Eras Tour debacle led to a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing to examine Ticketmaster’s outsize role in the industry. (Swift was not among the artists who signed the letter.)
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