Ticketmaster has agreed to stop withholding information about ticket sale fees until the end of the transaction, in a move that’ll ensure the prices concert-goers see are the ones they end up paying.
The company (which is owned by Live Nation), today joined SeatGeek and Airbnb to commit to more transparent pricing, in order to reduce the shock consumers often feel at the end of the process when they see the fees associated with the ticket.
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The move won’t actually save consumers any money, because there’s no indication these sky-high fees will be lowered in any way. They’ll just be declared before you select your seat, or the place to stay. It’s not clear whether the companies will adopt the strategy outside of the US either.
Ticketmaster, the main target of the consumer revolt following a debacle over Taylor Swift tour selling arrangements last year, has pledged to allow users to see the total price of the ticket, including all fees, within the search results. That’ll roll out by September. Airbnb launched the ability to see all fees before taxes at the end of last year, while SeekGeek plans to roll out the functionality this summer.
“This is a win-win for consumers,” President Joe Biden said in a news conference on Wednesday and claimed the Ticketmaster change alone will benefit 30 million people. Biden wants competitors to follow suit in adopting the all-in pricing.
“One of the major categories of junk fees are ones that companies charge right at the end of the purchasing process after you’ve already spent the time comparing your options,” the president said.
“The solution is what is called “all-in pricing” and that’s where companies fully disclose their fees upfront when you start shopping so you’re not surprised at the end when you check out. The companies represented here today are voluntarily committing to all-in upfront pricing.”
If Biden was really keen to help he might want to look into whether Live Nation’s ownership of Ticketmaster and the near-monopoly on the ticketing of high profile events in the United States is fair? And whether there’s a world in which the scale of the fees charged by Ticketmaster – which anecdotally is the cost of an extra ticket per two you buy – is remotely justifiable?
The answers to both of those questions, Joe, are no.
