Taylor Swift bill is signed into Minnesota law, boosting protections for online ticket buyers

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — People buying tickets online for concerts, sporting events and other live events in Minnesota will be guaranteed more transparency and protection under a so-called Taylor Swift bill signed into law Tuesday by Gov. Tim Walz.

The law, prompted by the frustration a legislator felt at not being able to buy tickets to Swift's 2023 concert in Minneapolis, will require ticket sellers to disclose all fees up front and prohibit resellers from selling more than one copy of a ticket, among other measures. The law will apply to tickets purchased in Minnesota or other states for concerts or other live events held in Minnesota.

Walz signed House File 1989 — a reference to Swift's birth year and an album with that title — at First Avenue, a popular concert venue in downtown Minneapolis.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that we would be at a bill signing for House File 1989 at First Avenue,” Democratic Rep. Kelly Moller, chief author of the bill, said.

Moller was among thousands of people who became stuck in ticket sales company Ticketmaster's system after it crashed in 2022 amid the huge demand for Swift concert tickets and attacks from bots, which tried to buy tickets for resale at inflated prices. The situation led to congressional hearings but no federal legislation.

Supporters of Minnesota's new law say the state joins Maryland as among the few states to pass protections for ticket buyers into law.

Ticketmaster did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the new Minnesota law. Taylor Swift’s media team also did not respond.

Jessica Roey, a spokesperson for StubHub, said in an email, “StubHub has long advocated for legislation that protects fans from anti-competitive and anti-consumer practices in the ticket buying process. We share the goals of HF1989 and look forward to continuing discussions with policymakers to advance policies that provide more transparency, more control, and more choice for ticket buyers.”

Walz, a Democrat, said the new law is “protection so you don't get a bad ticket, a fraudulent ticket, and resellers can't snatch them all up before you get an opportunity."

Two young girls — one wearing a shirt that said “A LOT going on at the moment” in a nod to Swift, and another wearing a shirt that said “Iowa 22” in reference to basketball star Caitlin Clark — attended the bill signing with their dad, Mike Dean, who testified in support of the bill this year.

Dean said his daughter “came to me in December and said, ‘Dad, I want to go to see Caitlin Clark.’ As a father, I just couldn’t resist. And so I went online to go buy tickets.”

The tickets were supposed to cost $300 total, Dean said, but they ended up costing over $500 because of hidden fees. The timer had begun in the online checkout process, so he had just minutes to decide whether to buy the tickets or lose them.

He ultimately bought the tickets. But Dean said these practices mean customers can't make informed decisions. The new law, he said, will bring transparency to the process.

The law takes effect Jan. 1, 2025, and applies to tickets sold on or after that date.

Adrianna Korich, director of ticketing at First Avenue, said she supports the new rules, saying fans are sometimes tricked into paying up to 10 times a ticket's face value because of deceptive websites and resellers who list tickets without actually possessing them. The new law bans both, she said.

“We have all heard the horror stories from the Taylor Swift Eras tour and have seen the astronomical prices that are being charged at checkout," Korich said.

Trisha Ahmed is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @TrishaAhmed15

Mike Dean and his two daughters – one wearing a shirt that says "A LOT going on at the moment" in a nod to Taylor Swift, and the other wearing a shirt that says "Iowa 22" in reference to basketball star Caitlin Clark - smile inside the First Avenue concert venue Tuesday, May 7, 2024, after Gov. Tim Walz signed a so-called Taylor Swift bill. The law, prompted by the frustration a legislator felt at not being able to buy tickets to Swift's 2023 concert in Minneapolis, will require ticket sellers to disclose all fees up front and prohibit resellers from selling more than one copy of a ticket for live events held in Minnesota. (AP Photo/Trisha Ahmed)

FILE - Taylor Swift performs during "The Eras Tour," May 5, 2023, at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn. People buying tickets online for concerts, sporting events and other live events in Minnesota will be guaranteed more transparency and protection under a so-called Taylor Swift bill signed into law Tuesday, May 7, 2024, by Gov. Tim Walz. (AP Photo/George Walker IV, File)

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz beams while holding up the so-called Taylor Swift bill he signed into law as lawmakers, First Avenue employees and online ticket buyers clap Tuesday, May 7, 2024, inside the First Avenue concert venue in Minneapolis. The law, prompted by the frustration a legislator felt at not being able to buy tickets to Swift's 2023 concert in Minneapolis, will require ticket sellers to disclose all fees up front and prohibit resellers from selling more than one copy of a ticket for live events held in Minnesota, among other measures. (AP Photo/Trisha Ahmed)

Using armored vehicles and backhoes to shove aside charred barricades, French security forces worked Sunday to retake control of the highway to the international airport in violence-scorched New Caledonia, shuttered because of deadly unrest wracking the French Pacific archipelago where indigenous people have long sought independence from France.

An eventual reopening of the Nouméa-La Tontouta airport to commercial flights could allow stranded tourists to escape the island where armed clashes, arson, looting and other mayhem have prompted France to impose a state of emergency. The airport, with routes to Australia, Singapore, New Zealand and other destinations, closed Tuesday as protests against voting reforms opposed by pro-independence supporters degenerated into widespread violence, leaving a vast trail of destruction.

French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, posting on social media platform X, said the “major operation” was “aimed at fully regaining control” of the RT1 highway between the capital, Nouméa, and the airport 60 kilometers (nearly 40 miles) to the northwest. He said more than 600 gendarmes were deployed. The number spoke to the difficulty of clearing roads of charred debris and barricades erected by pro-independence demonstrators and residents who have banded together to try to protect homes and livelihoods against rioters and looters.

The police effort to reopen the airport road cleared nearly 60 barricades on its first day, French authorities in New Caledonia' posted on X.

The French High Commission, in a statement, described the night of Saturday to Sunday as “calmer" but still spoke of two blazes and the looting of a gas station, without giving details. A 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew is in effect and security forces have been granted emergency powers, including house detention for people deemed a threat to public order and expanded leeway to conduct searches, seize weapons and restrict movements, with possible jail time for violators.

The High Commission also said 230 people it described as rioters have been detained.

Nouméa’s mayor, Sonia Lagarde, told French broadcaster BFMTV on Sunday that fully clearing the airport road could take “days and days” because of "an enormous amount of burned carcasses of cars.”

“The situation is still dramatic,” she said.

Gen. Nicolas Matthéos, head of the archipelago’s public order force of gendarmes, said some barricades had been booby-trapped with gas canisters and reinforced with “walls of vehicles."

On Saturday, French authorities reported a sixth fatality in the violence, following an exchange of gunfire at a barricade in the north of the main island, at Kaala-Gomen.

There have been decades of tensions between indigenous Kanaks seeking independence and descendants of colonizers who want to remain part of France.

The unrest erupted Monday as the French legislature in Paris debated amending the French constitution to make changes to New Caledonia voter lists. The National Assembly in Paris approved a bill that will, among other changes, allow residents who have lived in New Caledonia for 10 years to cast ballots in provincial elections.

Opponents fear the measure will benefit pro-France politicians in New Caledonia and further marginalize Kanaks who once suffered from strict segregation policies and widespread discrimination.

FILE - Smoke rises during protests in Noumea, New Caledonia, Wednesday May 15, 2024. Using backhoes to shove aside charred vehicles, French security forces worked Sunday, May 19, 2024, to retake control of the highway to the international airport in violence-scorched New Caledonia, shuttered because of deadly unrest wracking the French South Pacific island where indigenous people have long sought independence from France. (AP Photo/Nicolas Job, File)

FILE - This handout photo provided by the French Army shows security force embarking a plane to New Caledonia at the Istres military base, southern France, on Thursday, May 16, 2024. Using backhoes to shove aside charred vehicles, French security forces worked Sunday, May 19, 2024, to retake control of the highway to the international airport in violence-scorched New Caledonia, shuttered because of deadly unrest wracking the French South Pacific island where indigenous people have long sought independence from France. (Etat Major des Armees via AP, File)