Voters Demand Ticketing Reforms, including Price Caps, a Speculative Ticket Ban and ensuring artists have control over how tickets are resold.
NEW YORK CITY, May 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — A new survey of New York voters confirms what many have long suspected: New Yorkers are tired of a predatory resale market with no guardrails.
The survey, conducted on behalf of the Music Artists Coalition (MAC), sampled registered voters in New York and found overwhelming support for a series of reforms, including several currently pending in the State Legislature.
Key findings:
- New Yorkers are demanding reform. They aren’t just frustrated: they know what’s fair. 93% of New York voters support ticketing reform legislation, with 69% strongly supporting it. New York voters also have a clear preference for government-led reform, and give resale platforms one of the lowest credibility ratings of any group tested — just 42% view them as credible consumer advocates.
- New York voters want resale price caps. 81% of New York voters support strict limits on resale ticket markups, with strong, bipartisan backing. And the political case is just as clear: 67% of New York voters say they’re more likely to support a lawmaker who champions policies to protect artists’ rights to control resale.
- Expansive, bipartisan support for a speculative ticketing ban. 82% of New York voters agree that people or companies should not be able to sell tickets they do not actually possess, and 92% of New York voters agree that resale platforms should be required to verify that sellers actually possess the tickets they’re selling. 85% support a policy that would prohibit the sale of tickets the seller does not possess at the time of listing. Support is strong across all partisan groups.
The demand for reform is grounded in lived experience. 61% of New York voters attended a concert in the past 12 months and 76% plan to attend in 2026. New York voters are also among the most likely to expect and report paying above face value on resale — a sign that exploitative pricing has become so normalized that fans have simply accepted it as the cost of attendance.
“Artists want their fans in the room at fair prices they set, but the resale system is diverting money away from consumers, venues, and artists as resellers treat tickets like unregulated stocks” said Ron Gubitz, executive director of the Music Artists Coalition. “New York voters are sending a clear message that the status quo isn’t working. It’s time for reforms that protect the relationship between artists and their fans, restore trust, and ensure tickets are sold in a way that reflects the intent of the artists on stage.”
MAC represents the artists New Yorkers show up for. When voters are asked who they trust most to advocate for fair ticketing, artists top the list, and MAC is calling on Albany to act.
The survey was conducted by Breakwater Strategy on behalf of the Music Artists Coalition. The national sample included n=800 registered voters; the New York sample included n=500 registered voters. The survey was conducted February 9-19, 2026.
Media Contact: Kelly Bruce
kelly@breukelenstrategies.com
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SOURCE Music Artists Coalition
