The power of a Swifitie to change the world was demonstrated Tuesday in Minnesota when Democratic Gov. Tim Walz signed into law legislation informally known as the “Taylor Swift bill.”
The law requires ticket sellers to disclose up front all fees connected with a ticket purchase and bans resellers from selling more than one copy of a ticket, according to the Associated Press.
The law only applies to events held in Minnesota, whether for concerts or other events.
The bill was the brainchild of Democratic Rep. Kelly Moller, a self-declared Swiftie who in 2022 was caught in the mayhem that ensued when demand for Swift tickets spiked, bots added to the confusion and Ticketmaster’s system crashed.
Legislation dubbed the “Taylor Swift bill” has passed in Minnesota in an effort to help people buy concert tickets
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— Sky News (@SkyNews) May 8, 2024
“The genesis of this bill was really my experience being a Swiftie and trying to get tickets to the Eras tour,” Moller said earlier this year as the bill moved through a state House committee, according to KARE-TV
“And it wasn’t just me. There were a lot of people who had difficulty, too. I think the amount of productivity in the U.S. that day with people trying to get tickets while they were at work or school was probably really poor,” she said.
Moller said the bill serves a legitimate purpose to protect consumers.
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“When you select a ticket, you often don’t see those fees until you get to the very end, and then you have two minutes to make a decision and then you’re going to lose your spot,” she said.
“Regardless of what kind of tickets you’re trying to get, you as a consumer and all of Minnesota consumers deserve transparency in that process and fairness in that process, and that’s what we’re trying to achieve,” she said.
As AP noted, the law takes effect Jan. 1.
Adrianna Korich, director of ticketing at First Avenue, a Minneapolis venue, said she backs the law.
“We have all heard the horror stories from the Taylor Swift Eras tour and have seen the astronomical prices that are being charged at checkout,” Korich said.
Whether it’s a Timberwolves game or a Taylor Swift concert, you deserve transparency around pricing when buying tickets online.
I just signed HF 1989 into law – strengthening consumer protections for fans by banning hidden fees and cracking down on fraudulent ticket sales.
— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) May 7, 2024
According to the St. Cloud Times, the bill will require all fees to be posted, which Walz said will make tickets seem to have increased in price, but only because fees consumers never saw until checkout are now visible.
The law bans people from selling tickets they do not have, bars bots from buying tickets and seeks to curb the activities of ticket resale sites.
According to WOOD-TY, similar legislation is under consideration in Michigan.
