Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, DC Councilmember Charles Allen (Ward 6)’s RESALE Amendment Act will have a public hearing before the Council’s Committee on Public Works and Operations, with more than 70 people registered to testify, including musical artists, venue operators, and music fans.

The goal of the bill is to eliminate the proliferation of ticket resellers and digital scalpers who use technology and bots to bulk-buy tickets at the initial sale out from under music fans, only to then exponentially jack up the prices and resell them on the secondary market. None of the markups on resold tickets benefit the artist or local venue.

The bill would require registration for resellers and digital scalpers selling more than 50 tickets annually on online secondary markets and would place a 10% cap on how much a ticket can be resold above face value. Additionally, the bill would prohibit resellers and digital scalpers from selling tickets not yet available – a practice known as “speculative ticket sales.”

The RESALE Amendment Act was introduced on April 8, 2025, live on stage at The Anthem, one of more than a dozen local music venues that will testify in support of the legislation tomorrow.

“Today, regular music fans are hopelessly outmatched by digital scalpers who can buy hundreds of tickets from the box office and then resell the tickets to the same fans with a steep price increase – effectively making themselves the box office and upping the cost higher than what the artist or venue set. They aren’t offering choice or competition; they’re just middlemen, adding cost and uncertainty and making the experience worse for consumers, artists, and small venues. It’s time to rein in these anti-consumer, anti-small business, deceptive practices,” said Councilmember Allen.

• Who: Witnesses signed up to testify include some of DC’s most iconic and popular music venues:
  • Local venues, including:
    • IMP, which operates the 9:30 Club, The Anthem, The Atlantis, and Lincoln Theatre
    • Union Stage
    • DC9 Nightclub
    • U Street Music Hall
    • Songbyrd Music House
    • Black Cat
    • DC Improv
    • Pie Shop
    • The Hamilton
  • Virtual testimony from artist Andrew McMahon of Something Corporate, Jack’s Mannequin, and Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness;
  • National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) and Fix the Tix Coalition; and
  • Written testimony from artist and DC native Eric Hilton, co-founder of Thievery Corporation
• What: Committee on Public Works & Operations Public Hearing
  
  
• When: Wednesday, Oct. 22, beginning at 9:30 a.m.
  
  
• Where: 1350 Pennsylvania Ave. NW | Room 500
  
  
• How to watch online: DC Council's site | Councilmember Nadeau's site

See more: What it looks like when a scalper takes advantage of a concert-goer