President Biden and IRS Team Up to Tackle Ticket Price Problem

On September 24, 2023, the IRS announced a new law allowing them to be more stringent on ticket scalpers. The news comes after President Joe Biden announced the continuation of his crusade against big ticket apps like StubHub, Ticketmaster, and Live Nation. The government’s pressure on the ticket giants began back in June.

The Bident Administration introduced the regulation as part of the American Rescue Plan Act, a set of laws rolled out to protect average Americans in increasingly difficult times. The law will require ticket apps to hand over data on resellers to the IRS. The information will allow the IRS to seek out any reseller who grossed over $600, a drastic decrease from the previous $20,000 threshold. Once identified, they must fill out 1099-K forms, a report of their earnings over the year.

The day before the IRS announcement, President Biden condemned the heavy surcharges from the big apps, claiming that “[his] Administration is working to crack down on those junk fees.”

Concert tickets are hard enough to get, you shouldn’t have to pay surprise service fees on top of that.

My Administration is working to crack down on those junk fees, so you know what you are paying for up front.
— President Biden (@POTUS) September 24, 2023

There is widespread support from music fans for reform. Billboard recently published a guide for Beyonce fans looking to catch tickets to her hugely successful Renaissance Tour, where they claimed: “fans can expect to pay around $400-$550 (including fees) for a decent seat.” Paying such high prices to see big-name acts is not uncommon either. According to a survey from Lending Tree, 22% of concertgoers admit that buying tickets is very likely to send them into debt, and 11% of those who bought from resellers felt scammed.

According to Matt Schulz, chief credit analyst at LendingTree, “It seems as if [concert tickets] shot into the stratosphere in just the last year or so… If you know that your favorite artist is going on tour soon and you know you have to go, start to put a little bit of money away each month to help with the costs. Call it your Taylor Swift or Beyoncé fund.”

José Zamora

Jose Zamora is a writer and creator from Boston, MA. He has been a music nerd since middle school when he started his record collection. His passion for Hip-hop began when he discovered legends like Nas and Gang Starr and became obsessed with up-and-coming acts like Kendrick Lamar and A$AP Mob.

He is a recently graduated, up-coming journalist, passionate about music and culture. He is always keeping an eye out for the next big thing and is eager to put their talent in the spotlight for others to enjoy. He believes firmly that “Good art deserves to be talked about.”