Photo Credit: Samuel Costa Melo
Brazil’s President Lula da Silva has signed the ‘Taylor Swift Law’ to protect fans from the abusive resale of tickets and to provide free drinking water at large events.
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the president of Brazil, has signed two decrees that expand customer protection mechanisms at large cultural events. Known as the “Taylor Swift Act,” the measures regulate the sale and resale of tickets while establishing new guarantees for attendees, such as free drinking water.
To combat the purchase of massive swaths of tickets through automated systems, as well as abusive resale practice, platforms must clearly report the original ticket price, additional charges, and any amounts charged above the nominal price. The regulations also establish mechanisms such as virtual lines and pre-registrations to organize sales at high-demand events. In addition, ticket transfer through official platforms must be available without additional costs.
The second decree establishes that events with over 1,000 attendees, both in open and closed spaces, must guarantee free access to drinking water. The measure applies to concerts, festivals, congresses, conferences, and fairs, among other events.
Both decrees were presented during a ceremony at the Palacio de Planalto in Brazil’s capital city of Brasilia, featuring representatives of fan clubs of artists, including Taylor Swift, Dua Lipa, Shawn Mendes, Lady Gaga, BTS, and Harry Styles.
“If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t be making this decree,” the president told the fans at the signing.
The regulations arrive nearly three years after a 23-year-old woman died from heat exhaustion at Taylor Swift’s concert in Rio. What followed were years of pressure from organized fan groups.
Due to the artist’s unmatched global appeal, Taylor Swift’s concerts in particular have been the subject of exploitative ticketing resale practices, with automated systems buying up mass numbers of tickets and reselling them to fans at a premium. Similarly, there has been rampant fraud involving the sale of nonexistent or duplicate tickets.
It’s a problem affecting cities all over the world and concerts at every level. But Brazil’s president specifically taking aim at the practice—and on the heels of such a controversial tragedy involving a fan dying of heat exhaustion—sends a strong message.
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