US Congressman Bill Pascrell name-dropped several Metallica song titles while speaking to lawmakers about new ticketing proposals.
Earlier this month, Live Nation admitted its involvement in the direct transfer of tickets to resale sites following a Billboard expose which accused it of colluding with representatives of the rock group Metallica.
Billboard said it had obtained a secret recording of Bob Roux, Live Nation’s president of US concerts, discussing how the company could assist someone claiming to represent Metallica in redirecting 88,000 tickets to resale sites like StubHub rather than selling them at face value via normal channels.
While speaking to the House Energy & Commerce Committee, Pascrell said that ‘Wherever I May Roam’ music fans are angry with the ticket buying experience.
He continued: “It is important to emphasise that the marketplace has been governed by zero federal regulation,” and that Live Nation “operates with impunity.
“‘Nothing Else Matters’ to them but profit. It is time for Congress to ‘Turn The Page’”.
In June, Pascrell reintroduced the ticketing transparency legislation, known as the BOSS Act, following the Federal Trade Commission workshop on the industry. The federal BOSS (Better Oversight of Secondary Sales and Accountability in Concert Ticketing) Act, first introduced in 2009, aims to provide “transparency and regulation to the badly corrupted primary and second live events ticket marketplace”.
It was originally introduced after ticket holdback controversy during Bruce Springsteen’s Working on a Dream tour 10 years ago. It was later reintroduced in 2016 but did not gain enough support to pass it into law.
The BOSS Act is the sister bill to the Better Online Ticket Sales Act (BOTS), which bans the use of automated software to harvest live event passes across the US.
Image: Black Tea Photography
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