The ticketing industry pushes customer costs to the front

The Future. At the White House yesterday, several major ticketing companies announced that they’d start to show the “all-in” price for tickets in the US, hoping to curb outrage over surprise, last-minute fees. While this won’t solve every issue in the ticketing industry (monopolies, predator resellers, scams), it may help Americans accurately budget for the next concert they want to attend.

All killer, no filler
After criticism reached the White House over ticketing “junk fees,” ticket sellers are changing their tune.

• Ticketing companies such as Live Nation (which owns Ticketmaster), SeatGeek, and xBk have agreed to allow US customers to see the full price of their tickets up front.
• That allows customers not to be shocked by last-minute service fees and other expenses that shoot up the ticket price just as they’re about to check out.
• The features will roll out in the next few months (Ticketmaster’s hits in September).

The declaration follows on the heels of President Biden’s promise to help curb out-of-control junk fees — not just in entertainment, but also in hospitality, airlines, sporting, and subscriptions.

But it’s important to note that no one is actually getting rid of these fees; they’re just being transparent about them. And the fees only apply to those put on by the venue, not the artist or promoter. So, if TSwift or Springsteen decides to implement dynamic pricing to battle scalpers, those tickets may still skyrocket if demand is over the moon.