It’s been a big month for news for the world of concert tickets. While you might be able to see a few shows for free thanks to the Ticketmaster lawsuit (if any applicable shows are available), tickets to bigger name shows (not to mention sports, theatre and other events) have become increasingly difficult to get — or out of many people’s price range when they are resold on third-party sites — thanks to ticket bots. Fortunately, it looks like New York is passing legislation to try and fight that. A little.
The legislation passed the Assembly and state Senate on June 17 and, if signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, will make using ticket bots to mass-purchase tickets a Class A misdemeanor crime punishable by a year in prison and/or a $1,000 fine. Technically, certain types of ticket bot software is already prohibited by law, but this bill seeks to increase the penalties for such use and furthermore to apply to anyone who resells tickets purchased by a bot.
A bill like this has been in the works for some time, with previous legislation that would have made the use of ticket bot a felony failing to go anywhere in the Assembly and the State.
Assembly sponsor Marcos Crespo, D-Bronx, said in a statement that “Countless have lost opportunities to experience the richness of our arts and entertainment industry because there are those willing to circumvent by using automated software to deprive the average consumer of access to entertainment venues… With this bill becoming law, we will ensure the prices to see such talent will be within reach of all New Yorkers.”
This will probably do nothing to make it any easier to get Hamilton tickets, though show creator Lin-Manuel Miranda (who is leaving the cast of the Tony-winning musical next month), has been very vocal about criminalizing the use of ticket bots.