The Tennessee General Assembly is trying to pass legislation to make it a criminal offense for any Tennessean to re-sell a concert ticket for more than $3 above face value.
This legislation is driven entirely by a mistaken reaction to the extraordinary demand for Hannah Montana tickets on a recent concert tour. As we’ve detailed in postings here and in a letter to Tennessee legislators, the problem lies not with ticket resale, but with the promoters and the hyped-up demand they create by limiting ticket availability.
Hannah Montana has left town, but if legislators still feel the need to address imbalances in supply and demand for tickets, better to study the business practices of the primary market for concert tickets.
Without the secondary ticket market, many Tennesseans will never see their favorite sports team, show or band. We encourage Tennessee to respect the laws of supply and demand and not try to make criminals out of fans who re-sell their tickets.