North Texans have been amongst the millions of Taylor Swift fans frustrated when they could not get tickets to her most current tour. The drama that unfolded shed light on a broader problem with ticketing systems for events and reside performances.

The trouble stems from bots, or automated applications, getting up a bunch of tickets and then reselling them for an exorbitant quantity of dollars on secondary markets.

Thursday afternoon, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) sat down with leaders from prime D-FW sports teams and music venues to get their input as he crafts a piece of legislation to address the problem.

“These enterprises would not exist devoid of the fans, so we’ve got to take care of the fans, and from a pure customer protection standpoint, this is not anything we must tolerate,” mentioned Cornyn who agreed the debacle that occurred with tickets sales for Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour” was what brought interest to the subject. “All of this of course causes harm not only to the fans but to the performers who are in fact attempting to make the fan practical experience optimal.”

Amongst the panel of executives integrated a Taylor Swift fan who also had a challenging time finding tickets. Kate Testone, who is from Austin but is a junior at the University of Arkansas studying psychology, explained how she’s been a Swiftie due to the fact she was five-years-old, and was excited about the new tour.

“When we’re speaking about the ‘Era’s Tour’, we’re speaking about the eras of Taylor’s profession, but for myself, this was the eras of my life and I grew up with her. Her music has been a enormous component of my life,” Testone mentioned as she described the excitement amongst her and her good friends about the new tour. “Regrettably, we would not have been in a position to anticipate the challenges that finding tickets would present.”

She described problems with the lengthy waiting lists, the website crashing and only acquiring tickets on secondary markets.

“I wasn’t in a position to get something but resale tickets, and so then you are hunting at about $450 for an obstructed view, that suggests you are not even watching her carry out, you are watching a jumbotron and then if you wanted to be in the upper bowl you are hunting at $900, and as college students, we’re not in a position to spend that. I definitely wasn’t, I consume Raman for each meal, so definitely can not draw up $450 for a ticket,” mentioned Testone.

Cornyn mentioned he’s operating on a piece of legislation, referred to as FANS Initial Act, to curb these difficulties.

He mentioned it would get in touch with for far more transparency, requiring ticket vendors and resellers to disclose taxes, costs and refund policies to buyers.

It would also prohibit the use of bots to acquire tickets, prohibit speculative ticket sales that trick buyers into believing they are getting straight from an artist or venue and enact consequences for undesirable actors.

“A single of the factors we’re hunting at is enabling the Federal Trade Commission, FTC, which is a lot far more nimble and in a position to address person situations via agency action. So that is the principal suggests by which the enforcement or the consequences would be delivered,” mentioned Cornyn who also mentioned the state Attorneys Common could also impose civil penalties and build a reporting web-site for fan complaints.

He mentioned he’s operating with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) who he worked with in 2020 on the ‘Save Our Stages’ bill which helped offer SBA grants to reside music venue operators who have been impacted by the shutdown throughout the pandemic.

“This is a subject that has definitely captured the public’s imagination, they comprehend it simply because numerous have had a undesirable practical experience with predatory ticket scalping, so I feel the public is interested, and the visibility, the truth this is not a partisan problem, this is one particular exactly where we’re attempting to guard the fans and guard the performers that it is anything we ought to be in a position to get performed,” mentioned Cornyn.

It is not only the fans who practical experience aggravation, the artists and venues say they acquire the backlash due to the fact folks feel they are the ones performing the value gauging when they are not.

Texas nation music singer and songwriter Max Stalling explained it from his viewpoint.

“What takes place is they’re mad, they come to the show simply because they’ve currently invested the dollars, and they stand there crossed-armed at the front of the stage and give me the stink eye all evening simply because they feel this guy is above his raising and how he’s charging what must have been a $30 ticket, now it is a $60 ticket and, ‘Oh by the way there is a $20 handy charge that got tacked on at the finish.’ So not only have I lost this fan moving forward, but they also say to themselves, ‘You know what? I am not getting any of your stupid T-shirts, I am not getting any of your other stupid merch that you have there that generates income,’ so it is sort of a double whammy,” mentioned Stalling who believes legislation would be superior.

Dave Brown, COO and Common Manager at the American Airlines Center can be devastating for households who feel they are about to get pleasure from an occasion.

“In hosting 60 to 70 main entertainment events a year, we see dozens of households coming to the box workplace with tickets that are fraudulent, households coming to the box workplace with tickets that have been misrepresented, tickets that they overpaid for and it is pretty small chance on a sold-out show to attempt and assistance them navigate that disappointment for their household,” mentioned Brown.

“We strive on taking care of our guests and we have manage on most elements on that, how our guests are taken care of, their security, how they are treated when they come to the venue, but an element of our company has taken that manage away and it tends to make it appear undesirable for us, it becomes our trouble, the artist trouble and the reseller is nowhere to be discovered,” explained Brown.

“Our group faces these concerns with brokers, secondary ticketing, bots anytime that we’re promoting tickets for any one particular of our events definitely tonight is no distinct when you are in the Westerns Finals brokers are attempting to get access to these tickets and market place these tickets up at considerably larger costs,” mentioned Brad Alberts, President, Dallas Stars.

“These bots and the folks behind them are the ones we’ve got to take care of and I feel when that takes place, we’ll see a main distinction,” mentioned Doug Dawson, SVP of Stadium Income, Dallas Cowboys who believes consequences are required to see alter.

Cornyn mentioned the subsequent step is to seek other bi-partisan co-sponsors, then file a bill in the Senate, then the Senate judiciary committee, get it to the Senate, and function with these in the Residence to get it to the president’s desk.

Testone mentioned she nonetheless can not shake it off that she missed the concert, but hopes her feedback from her practical experience aids.

“I felt like it was significant simply because I feel the fan’s viewpoint, is why we’re right here, we get in touch with it fans very first for a purpose and as a person who was truly disappointed not becoming in a position to go, I did not want to repeat when the subsequent tour comes out, I wanted this trouble to be fixed,” she mentioned.

Final Friday Gov. Abbott signed Senate Bill 1639 that would prohibit bots from getting tickets.