Ontario Legislation Targets Ticketmaster

04/29/09 5:05pm

by Jen White (CHARTattack)

Ontario proposed legislation today (Wednesday) to stop companies like Ticketmaster from reselling event tickets at inflated prices through its own subsidiary companies.

According to a press release from attorney general Chris Bentley, proposed amendments to Ontario's Ticket Speculation Act will help ensure consumers have fair access to tickets for concerts, sporting events and the theatre.

Ticket buyers were outraged earlier this year when Ticketmaster claimed to have run out of tickets for certain events, but said tickets were available minutes later on TicketsNow, Ticketmaster's resale site, at inflated prices.

Ticketmaster would redirect people interested in tickets for big acts like Leonard Cohen, AC/DC and Bruce Springsteen to the TicketsNow site, where they would be charged as much as $2,500 for a $100 ticket, according to CBC.ca.

This spurred the launch of two class-action lawsuits (in Ontario and the rest of Canada) against the ticket giant in February.

"[Consumers] want a fair shot at the tickets that are available, and they said loudly and clearly: 'When the same or a related enterprise can benefit from both the selling and the resale of the same tickets to the same events, that's wrong," Bentley told The Canadian Press.

"They just don't think that's fair, and we happen to agree.

"We're making it very clear to all that this relationship between a primary and secondary seller, when they can benefit from the sale and resale of tickets to the same event, is unfair. That's what this legislation specifically addresses."

Fines for violating these proposed new rules could cost individuals up to $5,000 and $50,000 for corporations, states The Canadian Press.

CBC.ca reports that Bentley said he hopes to get the legislation passed before this summer's busy concert season begins.

Ticketmaster purchased TicketsNow for $265 million U.S. last year and takes a cut of tickets resold through the subsidiary in addition to the original service charges incurred when tickets are initially sold.