Ticketmaster, Others Agree to All-In Pricing as White House Cracks Down on Hidden Junk Fees
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Ticketmaster (owned by Live Nation), SeatGeek, and other ticketing companies have agreed to institute all-in pricing in response to the White House’s crackdown on hidden junk fees.
On Thursday, President Joe Biden met with representatives from the ticketing industry and venue owners — including the CEOs of SeatGeek, TickPick, and others as well as the president of Live Nation Venues — in an effort to bring “honest, transparent pricing” to the ticket-buying experience.
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The good news for consumers is that, in the near future, when they purchase tickets, they’ll no longer be surprised by additional fees at checkout, which became a point of contention among millions of frustrated Taylor Swift fans. The bad news is that those “junk fees” will still exist, but now they’ll be included within the all-in pricing at the onset.
“This is a win for consumers in my view, and proof that our crackdown on junk fees has real momentum,” Biden said.
Live Nation Entertainment, which owns both Ticketmaster and concert promotion giant Live Nation, has agreed that starting in September, Live Nation’s 200 venues will commit to all-in pricing. Venues that Live Nation doesn’t own and operate have to opt in for the pricing policy. SeatGeek said that it would “roll out product features over the course of the summer to make it easier for its millions of customers to shop on the basis of all-in price.”
Live Nation’s commitment comes at a time of renewed scrutiny and frustration toward the company. A disastrous on-sale for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour put Live Nation and the ticketing business itself back into prominent conversation. The company was grilled for hours during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing earlier this year and faces an investigation from the Department of Justice regarding claims that it operates as a monopoly. Live Nation has repeatedly denied those claims. Fans, meanwhile, have continued to bemoan Ticketmaster and its prices and fees after nearly every major event’s on-sale. Prior to the all-in pricing announcement, Live Nation had been pushing for legislation through its FAIR Ticketing Act, which looks to turn focus beyond just gripes toward itself and instead toward the resale and scalping market.
“Live Nation is proud to provide fans with a better ticketing buying experience,” Tom See, president of Live Nation’s Venue Nation, said in a statement. “We have thousands of crew working behind the scenes every day to help artists share their music live with fans, and we’ll continue advocating for innovations and reforms that protect that amazing connection.”
Biden has previously called upon Congress to pass legislation — which he dubbed the Junk Fee Protection Act — banning hidden junk fees. But until then, it’s up to the companies to take their own action.
“Today, Live Nation is committing to roll out an upfront all-in pricing experience in September showing just one clear, total price for more than 30 million fans who attend shows at the more than 200 Live Nation-owned venues and festivals across the country,” the White House said in its announcement. “Ticketmaster will also add a feature to give consumers the option to receive all-in upfront pricing for all other tickets sold on the platform.”
Ticketing companies have supported all-in pricing policies in the past, but only if mandated by law. Without all-in pricing being required, companies have said, those who don’t opt for the more transparent pricing will look cheaper than their competitors. Some states like New York have already passed laws requiring all-in pricing. Sens. Ted Cruz and Maria Cantwell recently introduced a new bill that would require all-in pricing on a federal level.
Stephen Parker, executive director of the National Independent Venue Association, commended the new efforts, and said in a statement he hopes it’s the first of more steps in fixing the ticketing industry’s issues including scalping.
“Up-front pricing should be the start of comprehensive ticketing reform that protects consumers from price gouging and deceptive practices by predatory resellers,” Parker said. “Other needed reforms such as banning speculative tickets and deceptive websites would further protect consumers in the ticketing marketplace. We applaud the President for today’s meeting and look forward to working with his Administration and Congress to make comprehensive, bipartisan ticketing reform a reality.”
It’s not just the ticketing industry where the Biden administration is targeting hidden junk fees: The president’s council Thursday will also include Airbnb CFO Dave Stephenson, which recently adopted “fee-inclusive pricing.”
“Today’s voluntary actions demonstrate that companies both big and small recognize the importance of providing consumers with honest, up-front all-in pricing, rather than tricking them with surprise fees at the end of checkout,” the White House added. “It is also just a first step towards addressing junk fees in the economy. The President continues to call on Congress to pass legislation that mandates up-front all-in pricing for all ticket sellers, bans surprise ‘resort fees,’ eliminates early termination fees charged by cable, internet, and cellphone companies, and bans family seating fees.”
“President Biden has been working to lower costs for hardworking families by bringing down inflation, capping insulin prices for seniors, and eliminating hidden junk fees,” National Economic Council director Lael Brainard added in a statement. “More companies are heeding the President’s call so that Americans know what they’re paying for up front and can save money as a result.”
Live Nation’s decision doesn’t appear to have quelled some of its harshest critics. The Break Up Ticketmaster coalition, which for months has been advocating for antitrust measures to separate Live Nation and Ticketmaster through antitrust measures, called the announcement ” a half-hearted attempt to ward off a looming DOJ investigation into addressing the real issue — its monopoly power over live events.”
“Our own research has shown that Live Nation-Ticketmaster wields its market dominance to charge exorbitant fees on top of the actual ticket, with multiple reports of fees that cost more than a ticket itself,” the coalition said. “Make no mistake: Being fully transparent about extorting consumers is still extortion in an anti-competitive market. Breaking up Live Nation-Ticketmaster is necessary to restore competition and fairness to event-goers, artists, independent venue owners, and the entire live events industry.”
Sen. Amy Klobuchar commended the new initiative but once again called for regulators to address Live Nation’s dominance over the industry.
“While this is a good step forward, there is much more we have to do, particularly in the live event market. We have to protect consumers and address Live Nation-Ticketmaster’s monopoly power and strengthen competition,” Klobuchar said. “When one company controls a vast majority of the ticketing market, that hurts fans, venues, and artists. Voluntary commitments can be revoked, so we need new laws to protect Americans from excessive fees. The Justice Department must act and we must pass legislation to protect consumers in this market.”
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