Legislation would limit markups to 10% above face value, drawing fierce opposition from StubHub.
WASHINGTON — The DC Council will hold a critical hearing on Wednesday regarding legislation that would dramatically restrict ticket resale prices in the District, setting up a showdown between concert venues that say scalpers are gouging fans and resale platforms warning the law could backfire.
The RESALE Act, introduced by Councilmember Charles Allen with seven co-sponsors, would cap ticket resales at just 10% above face value. The bill would make D.C. only the second jurisdiction in the nation to impose such strict price limits, following Maine, which enacted similar legislation this week.
More than 70 people have signed up to testify at Wednesday’s 10 a.m. hearing, including artists, fans, and representatives from both sides of the contentious debate.
The Problem: dramatic price markups
Supporters of the legislation point to eye-popping examples of price inflation on resale sites. Audrey Fix Schaefer, communications director for I.M.P., which operates venues including the 9:30 Club and The Anthem, said the average ticket at the 9:30 Club costs $37, but the average resale price on StubHub exceeds $2,100.
When pop star Lorde performed at The Anthem two weeks ago, tickets with a $150 face value were listed on resale sites for $800 to $1,200, according to I.M.P.
“Ticket scalping has just gotten so far out of control that it’s really harming our customers and our fans,” said Schaefer, who also serves as president of the National Independent Venue Association. “Just so far this year, $60 million worth of our tickets are advertised on StubHub — $60 million that will not go to any of the parties that have invested in that show.”
Allen argued the current system amounts to price gouging that hurts everyday fans while enriching middlemen who contribute nothing to the performance.
“You’ve got these ticket scalpers, middlemen online, and they basically scoop up the tickets,” Allen said. “They drive the cost up for your everyday fan who just wants to go see a show, and the independent venues that we love don’t see a penny of that profit.”
StubHub’s Counterargument: price caps don’t work
In an exclusive interview with WUSA9, Jess Roy, head of policy communications for StubHub, acknowledged that advocating against price caps presents a difficult public relations challenge but insisted the legislation would harm consumers.
“As a consumer, you hear price caps and go, ‘Wow, that sounds amazing,'” Roy said. “But the fact of the matter is, we know through independent studies that price caps simply don’t work.”
Roy cited research from a group called We Fight Fraud, which filed testimony with the Federal Trade Commission claiming that price caps in European countries like Ireland, France, and Australia have driven fraud rates higher and pushed sales to unregulated black markets on social media platforms.
“We’ve seen through these studies that fraud is four times higher” in jurisdictions with price caps, Roy said. “We’ve seen in jurisdictions where it’s been put in place that it has failed pretty badly.”
StubHub argues the legislation would restrict supply on the legitimate resale market, forcing buyers toward social media and other platforms where scammers sell fake tickets.
Roy defended StubHub’s business model, noting the company was created to “literally take scalping off the street” and provides a 100% guarantee that buyers will get into events or receive a refund.
The Ticketmaster factor
The debate has been complicated by the role of Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation, which the D.C. Attorney General is currently suing for monopolistic practices. StubHub contends the price cap legislation is actually being pushed by Ticketmaster as a way to consolidate control over the resale market.
“The big crux of this issue is, the price cap policy is a policy that Live Nation and Ticketmaster monopoly are pushing nationally,” Roy said. “We think it’s ignoring the elephant in the room.”
StubHub argues the bill includes provisions that would allow Ticketmaster to restrict ticket transfers, forcing sellers to use only Ticketmaster’s own resale platform.
But venue representatives reject that framing. “StubHub has always used Live Nation and Ticketmaster as their whipping boy in order to not get ticketing legislation passed, and it’s a red herring because the law would apply to Ticketmaster as well,” Schaefer said.
Allen insisted the legislation would impact all resale platforms equally. “Ticketmaster, just like everybody else, will have to play by those rules,” he said.
Both sides agree that automated bots that purchase large quantities of tickets the instant they go on sale represent a serious problem, though they disagree on solutions.
What happens next?
The legislation would require anyone reselling 50 or more tickets per year to register with the city as a broker. Allen said he hopes to move the bill to a committee vote following Wednesday’s hearing, with a goal of implementation in 2026.
The outcome could influence similar battles playing out across the country as states and cities grapple with ticket pricing in an era of sold-out shows and sophisticated resale markets.