In Rap, Senator Hoylman Rips New Tix Law as Bad for Fans

ALBANY - State Senator Brad Hoylman (D/WF - Manhattan), Ranking Member of the Investigations and Government Operations Committee, criticized New York’s new ticket bill (S8501B) that reauthorizes the sale of scalped tickets for three years as insufficient to protect consumers and everyday fans.

In debate, Senator Hoylman pointed out that the bill, sponsored by Republican Senator Terrence Murphy, lacks basic consumer protections such as a requirement that resale platforms like StubHub and Vivid Seats divulge the face value of tickets sold on their sites as is required in the U.K. and a ban on the resale of free tickets and tickets for charities. The sale of these types of tickets erupted into controversy in New York in 2015 when free tickets to see Pope Francis at Madison Square Garden sold for as high as $700 a pair on secondary platforms and tickets to a benefit concert for the victims of Superstorm Sandy sold for as high as $60,000 each, with none of the additional revenue donated to the intended cause.

Senator Hoylman also carries a bill to address the resale of free tickets (S7011B) and legislation that would require resellers to disclose face value and prohibit the resale of tickets for charitable events above the established price (S7021), along with other important consumer protection measures.

Senator Hoylman delivered a rap based on the musical “Hamilton” on the floor of the New York State Senate, following a tradition of ticket resale raps begun by the previous bill sponsor, former State Senator Daniel Squadron.

The video can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBm0SYC3esg

The lyrics to Senator Hoylman’s rap are below:

This is it. This is our big chance at reform for the next three years.

To finally stand up for fans and everyday New Yorkers against the big corporate interests.

I’m really disappointed we didn’t do more. Especially for giving the ticket industry three years of status quo.

  We should not throw away our shot at fixing our ticket laws.

We should not throw away our shot! Hey yo, for our music fans, They’re young, scrappy and hungry And we should not throw away our shot!

You shouldn’t need a degree, from King’s College,

To understand our ticket laws, but dag, I’m amazed and astonished,

The problem is we got too many lobbyists we must acknowledge,

But what about the fans - seems they gotta holler 

With every word, they could drop knowledge!

But you had no hearings, or public debate – Instead you left it to the back room, the back room, which we hate,

The back room, that was shrouded, 

There might not have been smoke but it sure was cloudy!

So I’m not surprised, the fans got ripped with all that money at the table they was bound to be tripped,

When the language of our laws has to be written by the people who profit our system is sickened! So fans won’t see face value in this law of the land,

Fans won’t get holdbacks or free tickets banned, so if you wanna see the Pope you’re gonna pay grand,

Hey’d you read about the Sandy concert on the newsstand?

On the other hand -- Right, there’s some good things in the bill, stuff we had to do, 

Oh yeah, we helped out the Yankees but what about you?

At the end of the day --  this much seems true:

The lobbyists ate our lunch - and the fans’ lunch, too!

Mr. President, we should not throw away our shot. I vote no.

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