Rep. Pascrell's Statement In Reaction To Today's Problems With Online Ticket Sales To Upcoming Bruce Springsteen Concerts

U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-8), the author of the BOSS ACT legislation aimed at protecting ticket buyers, today reacted to problems with today's online sales of tickets to upcoming Bruce Springsteen concerts. The preliminary information released by Ticketmaster today is:
"We have been experiencing highly abnormal traffic patterns on our site this morning that have impacted the fan buying experience for some customers. We are investigating the source of the problem and are working to resolve it as quickly as possible, but tickets are selling so please stay patient. We will update fans as we know more."
Congressman Pascrell's initial reaction to the the reported problem follows:

"Today's problems with ticket sales to one of the most anticipated concert tours of the year give us more proof that federal oversight is sorely needed to protect the public's interests. But they also indicate that primary ticket sellers like Ticketmaster need to have the technology and security to handle events that have the greatest demand. I'm sure we will learn more from Ticketmaster's investigation of today's events. But I think it's important to note that while many fans were unable to get tickets today, many brokers were able to get their hands on good seats for Springsteen and put them up on secondary ticket sellers' web sites where they were sold at higher prices," said Pascrell. "Whether today's problems are due to honest mistakes or dishonest market manipulation, regular folks who wanted a little entertainment were not able to get what they wanted at a fair price. The legislation I plan to introduce very soon will help guard against problems that threaten fairness to consumers buying concert or sporting event tickets."

Rep. Pascrell is preparing to reintroduce the Better Oversight of Secondary Sales and Accountability in Concert Ticketing Act, more simply known as the BOSS ACT. He has been meeting with stakeholders and drafting the bill, which was originally introduced on June 1, 2009.

That version of the BOSS ACT would have brought a basic level of transparency to the ticket industry so that fans have a fair chance to purchase tickets on the primary market. It also sought to protect consumers who choose to use the secondary market to purchase tickets.