According to this article in Thisweek‘s sister publication, the HometownSource Blog, Apple Valley State Senator Chris Gerlach advanced a hotly contested piece of legislation through committee regarding event ticket sales.
From the blog post:
The controversial bill, which an assortment of entertainment venues from the Minnesota Twins to the Burnsville Performing Arts Center oppose, in part focuses on so-called paperless or electronic ticket sales.
Gerlach’s bill outlaws the use of electronic forms of ticket sales not readily transferable. It prohibits conditioning entry into a venue on the presentation of a token — the original ticket purchasers’ credit card or ID card — not readily available to someone whose purchased a ticket from a friend, for instance.
While there was some public support for the bill, plenty of venues including the Burnsville Performing Arts Center, were in opposition. One person speaking for the bill noted that he likes to share tickets among family members and even donate others to charity. He wants the paperless options and “prohibitive practices”, such as requiring ID, to be eliminated.
Constituents may wonder why Senator Chris Gerlach is spending time on legislation like this instead of joining in the current fight against the newborn blood bank which he refused to become involved in because it did not benefit him to do so. So instead of fighting for the people on things that matter, like allowing the state to indefinitely harbor infant DNA and discrimination, he’s passing legislation on event tickets.
Do you think that legislation needs to be passed to force companies to eliminate the ID/credit card checks on ticket purchases? Do you frequently buy tickets and pass them along to friends/family/charities and find that the restrictions in place make that difficult for you? Do you think that there are far more pressing things for a state senator to be doing than working on this legislation? Whatever you have to say about this one go ahead and comment on as I’d love to hear your thoughts.
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February 2nd, 2012 at 7:25 am
Follow the money. The NFL/NBA/MLB/TicketMaster have for years been trying to eliminate the scalping businesses which resell their product (tickets) without paying them a cut. These organizations are pushing consumers to their own propriatary ticket exchanges where buyers and sellers can connect online and the organziation gets some juice out of the deal.
This came up when StubHub got popular. The ticketmastwhores realized that there was money being made on their events, and they weren’t getting any.
This bill would force consumers to use “official” ticket outlets to exchange products that they’ve already paid for. It’s just unabased greed and I’m sure Gerlach got a nice campaign contribution from Ticketmaster or the Vikings to bring this forward.
February 2nd, 2012 at 7:26 am
I think that more information is needed from both sides of this story. I can see many reasons for both sides. Paper tickets may be obsolete with today’s technology but people will have a hard time letting them go. Many people love to save their stubs as a memento of the event. They need to be counterfeit-proof to avoid the fraud element. Tickets should be sold through the event office only. No other agents collecting fees. I have been given tickets many times to events that I otherwise would never have attended or even been able to afford. On the other hand, if they go all electronic there should be a way to easily confirm title to them and an easy way for the purchaser to transfer the use of the electronic tickets to another party, maybe via a text of sorts to the computer controlling the ticket base. Senator Gerlach seems to me to be a fine person, so like I said at the beginning, there is more that we need to hear before deciding anything.
February 2nd, 2012 at 7:40 am
Meh. I go to a concert once every five years. I hate it how Ticketmaster is usually the ticket vendor in those situations. But nobody forces me to go to the shows. It’s like those rules that say you can’t bring an umbrella to an outside venue, or your own booze. If you think the requirement is onerous, don’t buy the ticket.
February 2nd, 2012 at 7:41 am
I think Sank nails it pretty well here. While the legislature should be focused like “a laser beam” on improving the economy, aiding a climate for job creation, and further righting the state’s finances, instead we are getting a steady diet of this type of nonsense including voter’s ID issues, Vikings stadium hyperbole, marriage amendments, etc. A pox on all their houses, one wishes the redistricting that will be announced on Feb 21 could wipe the slate clean and make all incumbents redundant.
February 2nd, 2012 at 7:46 am
They changed the laws so we can scalp tickets….. if they can make it a law so all tickets can be scalped I guess that would be cool enough. My only issue is people are more likely to buy tickets they don’t need because they know they can resell them, inconveniencing people that just want go to an entertainment venue.
P.S. I hate the political argument “Why are they worried about X because Y is a much bigger deal” because if they only dealt with big things (or things important to YOU) they wouldn’t be able to pass all these little laws that as a whole make a major impact on our lives.
February 2nd, 2012 at 8:09 am
It is already impossible to get a ticket to a popular show around here thanks to the scalpers from around the country that grab them just for resale.
I go to a couple of shows a month. Mostly small venues like Craig Finn this weekend at the Triple Rock, but I rarely miss Bruce either when he comes to town.
That said, The Current has pretty much made every show that they even mention a sellout within a few days, even for bands like one called Gotyea, a band that when tickets went on sale last month had one song even released in America, was sold out in two days. Many people buying these seats do not have intentions to go to the show, they just want to make a quick 20 on craigslist (and they do). The real fans just pay more even though the band and the venue are not trying to screw their fans at all.
I am for showing your id and credit card at the door. Changing this is just pandering to some campaign contribution and nothing more.
February 2nd, 2012 at 8:31 am
There are a lot of layers to this story. Gerlach is a special interest kinda guy. Gerlach is frequent partner with the “American Legislative Exchange Council.” If you don’t know who they are you probably should. You can learn about them here: http://tinyurl.com/85xsr53 Basically ALEC writes sample legislation for special interest groups and then shops them to friendly legislators. Gerlach attends conferences and carries water for ALEC.
On this piece of legislation I think he’s wrong. Both the Twins and The Wild oppose this legislation. If passed you couldn’t go downtown at the last minute and get a cheap ticket to go see a game. A friend got a Timberwolves ticket for $5 the other day.
Legislation by amendment or limiting the free enterprise of our daily life is not what these knuckle heads should be about. Where are the jobs bills? Where are the budget fixes? We need someone else representing us. Vote the bums out!
February 2nd, 2012 at 10:12 am
Agree.
Here’s the thing: By continuing to fight battles in the free market, the legislators will eventually f**k up the ticket market so badly that we’ll suddenly find ourselves asking “how come so many tours don’t come to the Twin Cities???”
February 2nd, 2012 at 10:19 am
I was already asking myself that although my answer has always been because of our geographic location.
February 2nd, 2012 at 12:40 pm
In the media world, this is the #13 market (or was…it’s somewhere in there). We are also closer to several significant markets (Kansas City, Chicago, Des Moines, Omaha, Milwaukee/Madison) than other cities that would never get passed by (Dallas for example).
There are few reasons outside of red tape that national acts would avoid the Twin Cities.
February 2nd, 2012 at 11:05 pm
All I know is this: I thought the anti scalping laws were dumb… but now that it’s legal, I don’t go to hardly any shows. Now I can’t get tickets because the scalpers buy them and resell at a price I can’t/won’t pay.
February 6th, 2012 at 8:13 pm
Thank goodness for GoogleAlerts. It gives me a chance to track blog commentary and respond if needed. This is certainly one of those times. First let me explain the bill I have sponsored.
The purpose of the bill is to protect the event ticket secondary market from being shut out by the primary market. Simply put, the primary event ticket market consists of the promoters and venues who sell tickets to the public either on their own or contractually through a third party (think TicketMaster). In recent years there has been tremendous vertical integration in the market, especially with LiveNation (the nation’s largest event promoter) buying TicketMaster (the nation’s largest ticket seller). Near monopoly control of this primary market has brought about the flexing of muscle in an attempt to also control the secondary market (think Stub Hub, Ticket King, EBay, Craigslist, your co-worker, your uncle Frank, etc) This is a battle of large corporate interests on both sides for sure.
Gary Sankary (comment #1) has it backwards…Ticket Master, Vikings, Twins, The Wild, Target Center, Xcel Center, etc. are all lined up AGAINST this bill. Gary, you are right that you do need to follow the money and those groups would like to shut down the secondary market and drive ticket holders to THEIR own proprietary secondary market and collect the transfer fees. I believe a better system allows for a thriving independent secondary market free of monopoly control. This is why I agreed to carry this bill.
So you see that your hit on me about campaign contributions is unwarranted as both Ticket Master and the Vikings vehemently oppose my bill. As amazing as it sounds, sometimes legislators are actually motivated by economic principles and not by who is assumed to make campaign contributions. And if you are ever unsure about who is making what contributions to whom, you can always take a look at the MN Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board website here… http://www.cfboard.state.mn.us/
I appreciate TwoBoot’s (comment #5) astute observation about never getting to X because Y is a bigger issue. When people feel wronged they have a right to petition their government for redress of grievances. I thought this was worthy of a public hearing so I introduced a bill. Does it solve world hunger…no. But, it still ought to be dealt with as a legitimate problem in the marketplace. I guess this is also a good time to take exception to Bill’s headline that I “worry” about event tickets. That choice of words is meant to belittle the issue and the fact that I brought it forth. Not exactly a fair or objective way to start off. But then again, a blog is opinion and you are entitled to yours, but for the record, I’m not worrying, just advocating for one side of an argument.
Chapter&Verse (comment #7) makes some astounding assertions about me and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). I’m not sure what makes someone a “special interest kinda guy” but am open to hearing your explanation. It’s been my experience that one person’s special interest is simply a group of issue advocates that they are not part of because they have their own groups of issue advocates that they DO belong to. At the end of the day I guess it’s just a term used to disparage someone you don’t agree with. And as far as this ALEC thing….I’ve never attended a single ALEC conference or meeting in my life. Why would you write that I did? And even if I did…what could that possibly have to do with the event ticket legislation? Does ALEC have a position on it? I haven’t heard of any. Lastly, what exactly does “carries water for ALEC” mean? Any examples of this water carrying? ALEC is as much of a legitimate public policy organization as any of the other hundreds that exist to advocate issues they believe in on both the political right and left (and everywhere inbetween). This one just happens to be conservative so you clearly don’t like them.
Lastly, love me or hate me for it, but I was the senate author of the bill which repealed the criminal penalties for ticket scalping in 2007. I was asked to carry it by former Representative Chris DeLaForest, the House author. The law was unenforceable and outdated in an internet world. I introduced the bill, made the case in committee, passed it on the Senate floor and persuaded the governor to sign it. A legitimate secondary market was born in Minnesota. And now I think it is best interest of the consumer marketplace to protect it from monopoly control. There you have it.
Chris Gerlach
State Senator
District 37 (Apple Valley, Burnsville & Rosemount)
February 6th, 2012 at 8:18 pm
Hey Senator Gerlach, I really wish you would have responded to the letter I sent you directly (not just via a blog post!) regarding the fact that you’re a bigot who happily ignores the Constitution to limit the freedoms of some of your constituents.
Instead you choose to respond to ridiculous legislation. I’m so glad my fellow citizens voted for you. You’ve done so much good for us I don’t even know where to begin.
February 6th, 2012 at 9:09 pm
Big props to Sen. Gerlach for responding here. Regardless of whether people agree or disagree with him, I always love seeing a politician engaging in public. The blogosphere is well-known for vitriol, especially in the comment section, and most politicians won’t touch it with a ten-foot pole. So thanks for being willing to respond and address this.
As for Bill’s comment, I’m assuming the “bigot” comment is related to the marriage amendment. I’m deeply disappointed in my representatives for supporting this terrible legislation. Believe what you want about homosexuality being a sin or not, the marriage amendment would do nothing to move Minnesota forward in any way whatsoever and our religious beliefs need to be separated from public policy. (And no, this isn’t a “conservative vs. liberal” issue. I’m one of many people who are Republican, conservative, or moderate and oppose the amendment.) I’d love to see your reasons for supporting this amendment. And please don’t say it’s because the people deserve a vote since I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t have supported a vote to amend the constitution to ALLOW marriage for all.
February 6th, 2012 at 9:49 pm
What if….there were no sports venues, only movie theaters. Would anyone want to pay the extra charges of the Ticketmasters and others, to go see a movie or would theater owners build bigger theaters to sell more tickets and keep prices affordable for everyone? Why does the public pay for stadiums when NASCAR tracks are privately owned? Something to think about.
February 6th, 2012 at 9:52 pm
http://www.alecmatch.org/chris-gerlach/
So, you didn’t pay your $200 dues to ALEC’s Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force?
February 7th, 2012 at 1:03 pm
Really Chapter&Verse??? A single payment back in 2007???
What damning evidence of a conspiracy!!
February 7th, 2012 at 1:58 pm
Kevin E, Who said anything about a conspiracy? All I did was point to a segment of Gerlach’s history.
February 7th, 2012 at 2:33 pm
I think I have a big problem that Gerlach is looking out for business like StubHub and eBay and allowing his constituents to have to pay more money for tickets.
Requiring IDs and the like actually makes the price of tickets go DOWN to the consumer that wants to go to the show. If the only people who bought tickets were the people who actually want to go to the show, do you think tickets would be showing up on StubHub or Craigslist BEFORE tickets have even been sold? No, the demand would be from the actual fans of the show, team, whatever.
Additionally, if the only way to sell your ticket if you could not go under these conditions was to sell it back to another FAN through the team or venue, would that not keep ticket prices at face value? It would.
Shame on you Mr. Gerlach, for putting big business in front of the people who voted for you.
February 7th, 2012 at 10:36 pm
I highly recommend that Sen. Gerlach read section two of the Sherman Antitrust Act, a bit of its legislative history, and some if the vertical integration cases to which it has been applied, then consider if this problem he is worried about doesn’t already have a solution on the books. P.s. Minnesota has its own version too! And case law! Check it out at Chapter 325D.
Then, after you’ve educated yourself on Minnesota law, come on back, read your post #12 and explain why this legislation is necessary.
Take all the time you need. We’ll wait. Thank goodness for GoogleAlerts, so we can be sure you got this message.
March 10th, 2012 at 10:32 am
Gerlach continues his reign as a huge piece of shit: http://www.startribune.com/politics/statelocal/142157363.html
March 12th, 2012 at 6:24 pm
From burnsville patch:
http://burnsville.patch.com/articles/chris-gerlach-wont-seek-re-election-to-minnesota-senate-2e2daf79
March 12th, 2012 at 6:26 pm
I hope someone continues to dig into why he’s resigning. It’s likely because of this fuck up.
Good riddance douchebag.
March 12th, 2012 at 6:56 pm
I don’t know why it couldn’t actually be that he wants to spend more time with his family. 14 years is a long time to serve in St. Paul and deal with the craziness that comes with being a legislator, especially given that their salary isn’t that great. Of course, it could also be due to his business and wanting to be able to expand its political involvement without any appearance of (or actual) conflict of interest. Or it could be something else. At this point, I see no reason not to take his explanation at face value, no matter how much he’s disliked. And despite the complaint being levied against him, complaints like that are commonplace in politics and he’s in a pretty safe district for Republicans. I’d be surprised if that were the reason, or at least the only reason. It’s pretty plausible that it would be a contributing factor though.
Oh, and thanks Whit for the link!
March 12th, 2012 at 11:00 pm
I’m gonna venture a bold guess — so he can get a cush lobbyist job like most other ex-politicians.
March 22nd, 2012 at 9:47 am
I received the following message from the Excel Energy Center the other day. I generally agree with their stance. Senator Gerlach is a fuck wad.
Our records indicate you have previously purchased tickets to events at Xcel Energy Center. Because of this we feel it is important for you to know about legislation currently being considered in Minnesota and how it will affect you, a fan of live sports and entertainment events.
The Minnesota legislature is considering a new law backed by professional scalpers that would make it nearly impossible to ensure Minnesotans have equal and reasonable access to tickets to attend concerts and sporting events. Plus if this new law is passed it will create a real risk that musical acts will simply skip Minnesota.
TAKE ACTION! Learn more about this issue and tell your elected officials in Minnesota to OPPOSE House Bill 657 and Senate Bill 425. http://www.stopthescalpingbill.org/MN
March 22nd, 2012 at 3:10 pm
Why do you hate children, Lefty???
March 27th, 2012 at 7:26 am
Gerlach owns Capitol Direct , a printing company. Gerlach,a Republican, supported a Right To Work amendment, several Republican Senators were undecided or against the amendment. Gerlach’s company accepted a printing job from Freedom Club, a PAC that supports conservative issues. The printing was mailers which were then mailed to the constituents of some of the Republican Senators who were undecided or unopposed urging them to contact their Senators to support the legislation.
Gerlach’s office said he was not running again to spend more time with his family.
March 31st, 2012 at 8:06 am
One of the aggrieved Republican senators raised the question of a possible ethics violation. I don’t think the Senate Ethics Committee is going anywhere with that. There doesn’t appear to be anything there except the pissing off of a few of his colleagues in a behind-the-back fashion.
What about the fact that he’s a member of an entire slate of Senate Republican leaders who stepped down/were voted out/or whatever, after the Koch-Brodkorb (“Broadcore”) scandal?
I don’t know if that’s a decisive factor, either, in his decision to not run again. But one COULD conclude that a defrocked “leader” (Gerlach had a title but was never a powerhouse in the Senate Republican caucus) might reading the writing on the wall. He’s probably as Tea Party as any of those senators, but remember that 21 of the 37 caucus members are newbies. Maybe they don’t like him, and maybe doesn’t like them or think they’ll afford him any influence.
The ticket thing? Gerlach has a penchant for obsessing on certain small-bore things under the purview of the Commerce Committee, which I believe he now chairs.