Chair Sampson, Vice-Chair Quijano, members of the Committee — thank you for the opportunity to testify.
My name is Jonathan Peirce. I own The Newton Theatre in Sussex county NJ, and I’d like to begin my testimony by pointing out a basic truth about live events in New Jersey:
Independent venues and the artists who perform in them do all the work, take all the risk, all to make a small profit— while scalpers, who contribute nothing, make the most.
That is the core problem with this bill.
The artist creates the show. They travel on buses for months, write the music, rehearse the band, and deliver the art people come to see.
The venue takes on enormous financial and operational responsibility — mortgages, staff, insurance, utilities, security, ticketing systems, marketing and more — to bring that show to our patrons safely and affordably.
And then there are the scalpers…
The Scalpers, I’m sorry, ‘resellers’ will tell you they’re just helping fans who can’t attend the show. That is BS. 90% of resale on Stubhub, Vividtix, Seatgeek and others… are listed by professional companies…NOT fans who got sick or can’t attend a show.
There are two types of scalpers… and both create serious harm.
1. Traditional Scalpers
Regular scalpers buy tickets to resell… but if they can’t resell them at the markup they want, they simply file a chargeback with the credit card company…
The scalper gets their money back.
I lose the revenue.
And the seat sits empty when it’s too late to resell it.
I have fought hundreds of chargebacks in my career, and I have won one.
2. Speculative Scalpers
But even worse are the speculative scalpers…They never buy a ticket in the first place.
They list imaginary inventory online. If a fan buys it, the scalper then tries to find a real ticket but only if they can profit. And boy can they profit…I have had customers come to the theatre with tickets they purchased for $400 that we were selling for $50. If they can’t profit, they simply walk away.
No cancellation. No refund process. No accountability. NO RISK.
And this bill does not ban speculative listings.
It effectively legalizes them with a disclosure checkbox.
A5611 Removes the Tools That Actually Protect Fans
At The Newton Theatre, we use delayed delivery, ID matching, and barcode refresh — the tools that have cut fake tickets and scalping by over 90%.
These are not anti-consumer measures. They are pro-consumer safeguards.
They ensure the ticket is real, that it came from us, and that the person entering is the rightful ticketholder.
A5611 eliminates or weakens all of these tools.
It prohibits the exact systems that prevent fraud and keep audiences safe — all so scalpers can operate more freely, with fewer barriers and no verification.
That is not consumer protection.
A5611 Makes Communication with Fans Worse, Not Better
When shows are postponed, rescheduled, or canceled, we need to reach the actual ticket holders immediately.
But when tickets move through scalpers, we don’t have the fan’s name, email, or phone number. We only have the scalper’s information.
So fans show up for a canceled show, angry and confused, because they never got the message. And they blame us.
A5611 guarantees that more tickets will flow through scalpers, meaning more fans we cannot reach in emergenciesand more confusion at the door.
No airline, hotel, or transportation provider operates this way — because it is unsafe and unworkable.
This Bill Will Raise Prices in New Jersey, Not Lower Them
Supporters of A5611 claim it will reduce costs for consumers.
The real-world outcome is the opposite.
By mandating full transferability, eliminating anti-fraud controls, and allowing speculative listings, the bill hands control of the marketplace to scalpers.
Here’s what will happen:
1. Scalpers will buy more tickets instantly — automated or coordinated buying becomes easier.
2. Those tickets will immediately move to secondary platforms, where artists and venues no longer control the price.
3. The bill’s “price cap” is meaningless — it does not apply to tickets resold on the internet, which is where almost all resale occurs.
4. New Jersey families will pay higher prices, not lower ones. This bill does not shift power to consumers.
It shifts power to scalpers.
Tickets Are Licenses, Not Property
There is a misconception that tickets should be freely tradeable because people “own” them. But a ticket is not a baseball card or a pair of shoes.
It is a revocable license, identical in structure to:
• an airline seat,
• a hotel reservation,
• a train ticket.
And in every one of those industries, scalping is prohibited because it causes safety risks, operational chaos, and skyrocketing prices.
If New Jersey would not allow me to scalp my airline ticket, why should it allow someone else to scalp my concert ticket? We are not asking for special treatment.
We are asking for the same common-sense protections used everywhere else licensed access is sold.
CLOSING
A5611 solves the wrong problem and creates a much bigger one.
It empowers scalpers.
It weakens safety.
It legalizes deceptive practices.
It raises prices for New Jersey families.
And it destabilizes the independent venues and nonprofit arts organizations that anchor communities across this state.
Independent venues are cultural infrastructure.
We take the risk.
We create the experiences.
We keep ticket prices affordable so families can attend.
A5611 hands the financial upside to the people who contribute nothing.
For all these reasons, I respectfully urge you to oppose this bill and work with venues, artists, and fan advocates to build real consumer protections.
Thank you, and I’m happy to answer any questions.