Massachusetts is moving to cap the resale price of concert and sports tickets at 110% of their original face value.
Governor Maura Healey announced on Thursday (July 16) that she will file legislation, the Great Divide Act, to limit what resellers can charge fans on the secondary market.
The bill would cap concert-ticket resale at 110% of face value and limit the service fees charged by resale platforms such as StubHub and SeatGeek to no more than 10% of the resale price.
It would also ban speculative tickets in Massachusetts – listings for seats a seller does not yet possess – and bar resellers from using deceptive websites or misleading fans about ticket availability.
The move would make Massachusetts the latest US state to rein in the secondary market, following Vermont and Maine, both of which the Healey administration cited as precedent.
Vermont adopted the same 110% cap in a law backed by Noah Kahan, and Maine passed a matching measure in 2025.
Lawmakers in California and New York have proposed their own resale caps, as previously reported by MBW.
Healey said the Great Divide Act will be included in her closeout supplemental budget, which requires approval from the state legislature.
State Senator Dylan Fernandes, who joined Healey for the announcement at the Massachusetts State House, had already filed a standalone version of the legislation.
“Ticket scalping in America is out of control,” said Fernandes.
The name of the bill nods to Kahan‘s album and tour, The Great Divide. A vocal opponent of predatory resale, he successfully advocated for the earlier law in Vermont.
Kahan recently headlined four consecutive sold-out shows at Fenway Park, which the announcement described as a first for the Boston venue.
The top ticket for the Fenway run was priced at USD $400, with an average of $125, but seats were listed on StubHub for between $900 and $39,000, according to Fernandes.
Healey said: “Far too many Massachusetts residents have experienced the pain of being excited to buy tickets to see their favorite singer or sports team, only to realize that resale prices and fees have driven up the cost to outrageous levels.
“Enough is enough. We are taking action to lower ticket resale prices so Massachusetts fans can better afford to see their favorite performer or team.”
Maura Healey, Massachusetts Governor
“Or how about when you do purchase tickets from a reseller, only to get to the venue to realize the seller never actually transfers them to you?”
“Enough is enough. We are taking action to lower ticket resale prices so Massachusetts fans can better afford to see their favorite performer or team.”
Kahan, who appeared by video at the press conference, said: “I heard about what you’re announcing today and I just wanted to let you know how excited I am about it.”
“The artist community and fans will greatly benefit from limiting ticket scalping and the sales of speculative tickets. I love my fans and want to protect them however I can.
“Artists alone could not tackle the market manipulation of secondary resellers. So, thank you so much for making this a priority in Massachusetts.”
“Artists alone could not tackle the market manipulation of secondary resellers. So, thank you so much for making this a priority in Massachusetts.”
Noah Kahan, Artist
The proposals come as the Federal Trade Commission and the courts sharpen their focus on the ticketing business.
In September 2025, the FTC and seven states sued Live Nation and Ticketmaster, accusing them of profiting from scalpers who bought up tickets beyond posted limits.
A jury in April 2026 found Live Nation and Ticketmaster had operated an illegal monopoly that overcharged ticket buyers, in a case pursued by 33 states and the District of Columbia.
The secondary market has drawn scrutiny of its own, with StubHub and its CEO, Eric Baker, hit with a proposed class action this month over the platform’s ties to large-scale resellers.
StubHub, which processed approximately $9.2 billion in ticket transactions in 2025, has said those relationships are disclosed in its public SEC filings.
Under the Great Divide Act, the 110% ceiling would apply only to resale, leaving the price and fees set on a ticket’s first sale untouched.Music Business Worldwide
