California has introduced a bill to put a limit on ticket re-sale prices.
- READ MORE: The UK ban on secondary ticketing explained by Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy: “Time is up for ticket touts”
On Thursday (February 5), California state assemblyman Matt Haney introduced a spot bill titled the California Fans First Act, which would cap the price of a resold concert ticket at no more than 10 per cent above the ticket’s original face value.
A spot bill is an initial proposal that still requires legal guidance from state lawyers for final language.
The bill would look to make it illegal to resell a concert, theatre, comedy or other live entertainment ticket – not including sports – at a price higher than face value (the cost of the ticket plus fees from the primary ticketing source) plus 10 per cent for shows taking place in California.
If successful, California will follow Maine as the only other US state to have passed a re-sale cap. The Maine bill, which passed in 2025, also capped the re-sale value at 110 per cent of the face value of the ticket.
Several other states, including New York, Vermont, Washington and Tennessee, are seeking to implement similar legislation, as well as Washington, D.C.
In January, Kid Rock testified to Congress about rising costs of concert tickets and re-sales, saying that the Live Nation-Ticketmaster “experiment has failed miserably”.
The musician spoke out at Capitol Hill on Wednesday (January 28), and told Congress about how corporations and scammers were routinely driving the cost of tickets to live music events, which is both unfair to fans, and shows no real benefit to the artists themselves.
Testimony before the Senate Commerce Committee pic.twitter.com/jqnjbE3HNV
— KidRock (@KidRock) January 28, 2026
It followed on from US regulators suing Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation, over alleged “illegal” tactics when reselling tickets, back in September. The regulators accused the companies of breaking the law with these methods, and alleged that it has cost customers millions of dollars.
In the UK, such a law has already come into fruition. The Labour government announced back in January 2025 that they’d be looking to enforce a price cap on how much touts can re-sell tickets for, alongside an official consultation into the industry and controversial ‘dynamic pricing’ practices.
In November – after the likes of Radiohead, Sam Fender, Dua Lipa and more lead the call for them to keep their pledge – the government confirmed their plans to enforce a ban.
New rules will make it illegal to re-sell tickets for live music, sports, comedy and theatre events above original cost – making re-sold gig tickets roughly £37 cheaper on average and collectively saving fans £112million per year. Massive fees from secondary ticket sellers will also be stamped out.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy spoke to NME after the announcement, telling us: “We promised when we were elected that it would be time up for ticket touts. It’s a good day.”
Explaining the finer details of what it means for gig-goers, she continued: “People will obviously be able to re-sell their tickets, but not for any more than the price they paid for it. They’ll have to sell it at face value.
“You do get lots of people who later find that they can’t go to a gig or sporting event, and we want to make sure that they can still sell their ticket. They won’t be able to add on any more money than they paid, but they will be able to get their money back.”
