Pay $4,000 for your Coachella ticket? This California bill may curb scalping

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Let’s be real, Coachella is always expensive, but this year, with Justin Bieber finally performing live after so long, it was crazy. If you were hoping to snag a last-minute ticket, you probably had your heart broken when you checked resale sites like StubHub – the prices were just insane!

As of Friday afternoon, tickets for the first weekend of Coachella are selling for between $4,000 and $5,000 on StubHub. While those tickets are sold out, you can find lower prices for the second weekend directly from Coachella’s official resale site. Originally, weekend one tickets cost $649.

As a huge moviegoer, I was pretty shocked to hear about this! California Assemblymember Matt Haney is trying to do something about those ridiculous ticket prices you see online. He’s introduced a bill – it’s called the California Fans First Act – that would basically make it illegal to resell tickets for more than 10% above what they originally cost. It’s a smart move to protect fans like me from getting totally ripped off!

We’ve let events like Coachella be taken over by people who just want to make a quick profit, not enjoy the show. These speculators aren’t actual fans – they don’t contribute anything to the event itself. They’re taking advantage of fans by driving up ticket prices, sometimes to eight or nine times the original cost. This means dedicated fans, like those of Justin Bieber, end up paying a huge markup.

This proposal follows a recent Justice Department settlement with Live Nation, allowing them to continue owning Ticketmaster. Now, several states, like California, are considering their own lawsuits and new laws to address what many fans see as serious problems with the ticket-buying process.

Hollywood Inc.

A proposed law in the state would prevent people from reselling tickets for more than 10% above their original price.

Okay, so let’s talk Coachella. It’s put on by Goldenvoice and AEG, which is important because it’s not connected to Live Nation or Ticketmaster. What is frustrating, though, is seeing those resale ticket prices – they’re absolutely insane! It really highlights how quickly popular concerts have become a prime target for people just looking to make a quick buck off of fans.

Haney believes Live Nation’s dominance needs to be challenged, but also points to issues with ticket resellers, or scalpers, who prevent genuine fans from getting tickets. This problem isn’t unique to any one platform. Addressing both monopolistic practices and high fees from official sellers is crucial, but so is stopping scalpers from buying up tickets just to resell them for profit. Haney is confident that if reselling tickets for inflated prices were prohibited, more tickets would be available for fans, even for popular events like Coachella.

High concert ticket prices are a complex problem, and artists and concert organizers have a significant impact on them – more than many fans realize. Technology already exists that would allow tours to limit resale prices, similar to what a recent proposal suggests. It’s clear fans are willing to spend a lot of money to see popular shows, like those at Coachella.

Haney explained that when people are eager to pay to see a show, the money should go to the performers and event staff. While high demand can lead to higher ticket prices, he believes it’s wrong to let ticket resellers create artificial scarcity and inflate those prices even further.

California

As a huge Olympics fan, I’m hearing it’s a real mess trying to snag tickets in Los Angeles right now. People are running into error messages on the websites, the number of available tickets seems to be disappearing fast, and on top of everything, the fees are really adding up. It’s frustrating for those of us who are excited to go!

As a huge moviegoer, I’m really hoping California’s ‘Fans First Act’ becomes law. It’s still making its way through the state government, but it would finally make ticket prices fairer – more like they are in many parts of Europe, where reselling tickets for crazy markups is already illegal. I’ve heard New York is thinking about something similar, and honestly, since it doesn’t look like the federal government will step in anytime soon, these state laws feel like the best way to tackle the problem of ridiculously overpriced tickets.

Haney believes California, a state with a strong connection to live music and its economy, can take the lead in this area.

He emphasized that California’s identity, economy, and culture are deeply rooted in its creative community. He argued that supporting artists and ensuring fans can enjoy their work is crucial, but currently, both are suffering. He believes this legislation is particularly urgent for California, given how essential creativity is to the state’s core identity.

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2026-04-12 21:07