SEATTLE — The days of standing in a physical line to score concert tickets may be long over, but the buzz over concerts has not slowed down.
Seattle fans had their chance to score Beyoncé tickets when the BeyHive Verified Fan Presale kicked off Monday.
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"For me, this concert is especially important as a Black and queer person because renaissance was a love letter to our community," said Rediet Medhane who saw Beyoncé for the first time at a Destiny's Child concert at Key Arena in the third grade.
But instead of camping out on the streets, fans like Medhane are feverishly hitting refresh on their browser and hoping they can survive the convoluted system of pre-sales and release times.
"There's nothing like live music, especially an artist that you have some sort of resonance with... but it's been pretty cutthroat," Medhane said.
For many music fans, the sale on Monday came on the heels of the Ticketmaster meltdown when the site crashed during the Taylor Swift ticket sale.
Washington state lawmakers are now responding to the frustration.
"Whether you're going to see a popular artist like Taylor Swift or you're experiencing a local Seattle artist, folks are feeling the crunch of not being able to get access to their favorite artists through these ticket seller markets," said House Rep. Kristine Reeves.
Reeves is backing the Ticket Sales Warrant Integrity, Fairness and Transparency Act, which also happens to stand for TSWIFT. The bill focuses on addressing bots, cracking down on fake sales and hidden fees and requiring sellers to be upfront about ticket prices.
Reeves said lawmakers have taken feedback from consumers and experts in the industry to create the best consumer protections possible.
House Bill 1648 goes to a vote Wednesday to move out of committee and into Executive Session, but Medhane is hoping the bill makes it all the way to Governor Jay Inslee's desk.
"The hoops that we have to jump through right now and the prices we have to pay are exorbitant," Medhane said.
