The White House is working with ticketing companies to ensure that the total cost of tickets is revealed early in the purchase.
President Joe Biden addressed the “junk fees” at a roundtable Thursday afternoon as he was joined by reps from Live Nation, SeatGeak, TickPick, and several others to address unnecessary service fees that catch many buyers off guard. Many of these service fees aren’t necessarily going away. However, companies are working with the government to ensure they are revealed early in the buying process.
“The solution is what is called ‘all-in pricing’ and that’s where companies fully disclose their fees up front, when you start shopping, so you’re not surprised at the end when you check out,” Biden said at the White House event.
Live Nation, who owns Ticketmaster, has pledged that starting in September, all tickets sold for its shows automatically will “list all the prices up front, for all tickets to events at more than 200 venues of its own, benefiting over 30 million customers and will give customers the options for an all-in price for all other tickets sold on its platform,” Biden said.
SeakGeek also plans to make it easier for customers to shop on the basis of all-in price. This feature will roll out over the summer.
This course of action follows the massive fallout from Taylor Swift fans, who filed a class-action lawsuit about fluctuating prices, website crashes, and random pauses in sales. Beyoncé and Bruce Springsteen fans have also endured similar issues with Ticketmaster and LiveNation’s websites. Unexpected costs have typically been a pest at checkout, driving up the initial prices buyers were expecting.
Following the ticketing drama, Biden proposed the Junk Fee Protection Act, targeting excessive charges for various entertainment tickets. This legislation would also end unwarranted expenses for resorts, phone and internet services, flights, and early flight cancellations. The goal is to guarantee transparency when purchasing these services. Many ticketing companies have shown support for all-inclusive pricing in the past but have called for the practice to be mandated by law.
“More companies are heeding the President’s call so that Americans know what they’re paying for upfront and can save money as a result,” stated National Economic Council Director Lael Brainard.
Congress has not yet moved to pass the law.
