NJ Lawmakers Take Aim at Ticket Price Gouging and Hidden Fees

Now that the first day of spring has come and gone, concert season is right around the corner.

And, with that in mind, legislators in New Jersey are working on a package of bills that are intended to protect concertgoers from the price gouging and hidden fees that can often be associated with ticket sales market.

The move follows several high-profile incidents -- like popstar Taylor Swift having to cancel ticket sales after Ticketmaster fumbled on a presale and left an insufficient inventory of public sale tickets available for fans.

It was an issue that even lead to a federal investigation into Live Nation, which owns Ticketmaster, over the company's stranglehold on the concert ticket industry.

NBC10's Cydney Long spoke to Democratic New Jersey Assemblyman, Bill Moen to learn how this legislation would work and what it could mean for fans.

"When we talk about fairness this will mean the ticket providers those that are making sales have to provide more information to the general public about the ticket and when/where they choose," Moen told NBC10.

Moen said the goal is to provide ticket shoppers with more information, like how many tickets are available, notice when shoppers are being directed to ticket resale websites and would establish transparency requirements so that ticket shoppers would be aware of every fee involved a purchase.

"Transparency In the sense of requiring certain number of tickets and tickets available disclosed on websites," said Moen.

Lawmakers are hoping to address issues with ticket sales through four bills all targeting different aspects of the industry.

• Assembly Bill 5287 would establish a structure for ticket fee disclosure and for fees that are part of ticket sales, in order to push back against hidden fees.
• Assembly Bill 5288 would require ticket sale website operators to display information regarding ticket availability.
• Assembly Bill 5289 would provide notice for ticket shoppers when a ticket seller's website redirects them to a ticket resale site.
• Finally, Assembly Resolution 179 would call on Congress to address the consolidation of the ticket sale industry. The legislation notes that Ticketmaster and Live Nation control about 70-percent of the ticket market since the companies merged in 2010.

The New Jersey Assembly and Commerce Committee discussed these bills on Monday. If this legislation is approved, it would apply to every company that sells tickets to performances at venues throughout New Jersey.