Ticketmaster is the largest ticket sales and distribution company in the United States. They sell tickets for various events such as concerts, sporting events, theater shows, and more. Ticketmaster charges a variety of different fees when customers purchase tickets through their platform. These fees can really add up and often make up a significant portion of the total ticket price. In this article, we will take a detailed look at the different fees Ticketmaster charges and what they are for.
Service Fees
One of the main fees that Ticketmaster charges is a service fee. This is a fee that they charge for using their platform to process and handle the transaction. The service fee is intended to cover the costs of operating their website and mobile apps as well as providing customer support.
Ticketmaster does not provide an exact percentage for their service fee and instead says it is a “variable amount”. The service fee can vary quite a bit depending on the event, seat location, demand, and other factors. Typically though, you can expect to see service fees in the range of 10-25% of the base ticket price.
For very high demand events or prime seat locations, the Ticketmaster service fees can sometimes reach up to 40% or more of the base price. Some examples of particularly high service fees that have been reported include:
- $42.80 service fee on a $95 base price ticket for a Maroon 5 concert.
- $76.75 service fee on a $200 base price ticket for an NBA Finals game.
- $166 service fee on a $400 base price floor seat ticket to a Taylor Swift concert.
As you can see, those are some pretty hefty fees being added onto the price. The service fees alone often add $10-30 or more to each ticket purchased through Ticketmaster.
Order Processing Fees
Another standard fee that Ticketmaster charges is an order processing fee. This is a smaller fee that is charged on all ticket orders, regardless of how many tickets are in the order.
The order processing fee is intended to cover the costs of processing and handling each ticket order. As of 2022, Ticketmaster’s order processing fee is $6.95 per order for events in the United States.
So if you purchase 3 tickets in a single order, you pay the $6.95 order processing fee only once. If you purchase 3 tickets in separate orders, you would pay the $6.95 three times.
Facility Charges & Other Fees
In addition to their own service and processing fees, Ticketmaster also charges facility fees and other fees on behalf of the venues and event organizers.
These types of fees can include:
- Facility fee – Charged by the venue
- Convenience fee – For the convenience of buying tickets online/by phone
- Print-at-home fee – For printing your own tickets instead of having them mailed
- TicketFast delivery fee – For expedited delivery of tickets
The facility fees and other fees are not kept by Ticketmaster and instead passed along to the venue, sports team, promoter, or other event host.
These fees can vary greatly based on the event, venue, and delivery method selected. Facility fees are typically $5-$20 per ticket. Other fees like TicketFast delivery can be $15-$25 per order.
Premium Seat Fees
For tickets to highly desirable front row, VIP, or premier seat locations, Ticketmaster will often add premium seat fees. These fees are intended to capitalize on the extra demand for the best seat locations in the venue.
Premium seat fees are sometimes called “market driven fees” since the amount of the fees is driven by demand for those seats. Naturally, the closer you are to the stage, field, or main attraction, the higher these premium seat fees tend to be.
A few examples of premium seat fees include:
- $125 premium seat fee for front row seats at a Rolling Stones concert
- $300 premium seat fee for floor seats at an NBA playoff game
- $450 premium seat fee for ringside seats at a boxing match
These premium seat fees can add hundreds of dollars per ticket on top of the regular service fees and base ticket price. The fees may be higher or lower depending on exactly how in-demand those premium seats are.
Dynamic Pricing
Ticketmaster utilizes dynamic pricing on many events, meaning ticket prices can fluctuate over time based on demand. If a concert is selling particularly well, for example, Ticketmaster may raise the base ticket price. This allows them to earn more on popular shows.
Dynamic pricing is enabled through Ticketmaster’s “Official Platinum” tickets program. These tickets have prices that are adjusted up or down dynamically based on market demand. Official Platinum tickets may start out at below face value prices during the pre-sale period to attract early buyers. As the event date gets closer and remaining tickets become more scarce, Official Platinum tickets will rise in price, sometimes drastically.
While dynamic pricing does not necessarily represent a specific “fee”, it essentially has the same impact by raising prices when demand is highest. Fans are often frustrated when they see face value tickets skyrocket to 2X, 3X or more their original prices as show dates approach.
Summary of Fees
To summarize, here are some of the major fees that Ticketmaster commonly charges:
- Service fee – 10-25%+ of base ticket price
- Order processing fee – $6.95 per order
- Facility fee – $5-$20 per ticket
- Convenience fees – Variable by event
- Premium seat fees – For best seat locations
- Dynamic pricing – Fluctuating ticket prices based on demand
When you add up the service fees, processing fees, facility fees and any other charges, the total fees on an event ticket purchased through Ticketmaster can reach $40 or higher in many cases.
Are There Any Ways to Avoid the Fees?
Given how substantial Ticketmaster’s fees tend to be, many customers understandably want to know if there are any ways to avoid or reduce the fees. Here are a few methods that may help:
- Buy direct – Some venues and event organizers sell tickets directly through their own box office or website. Purchasing direct can sometimes avoid the Ticketmaster fees.
- Fan-to-fan exchanges – Sites like Stubhub and Vivid Seats connect fans looking to resell extra tickets. Buying from another fan avoids some fees.
- Promo codes – Ticketmaster occasionally offers promo codes that waive service fees or provide discounts.
- Season ticket packages – Sport team season tickets often include waiver of some per-ticket fees.
- Group orders – Ordering 10+ tickets can qualify you for waived service fees in some cases.
However, Ticketmaster still dominates much of the primary ticket sales market, so it is not always possible to completely avoid their fees if you want to purchase tickets for popular events and concerts. Many artists, teams, and venues exclusively use Ticketmaster to handle all their ticketing needs.
Why Does Ticketmaster Charge So Much in Fees?
Given how widely criticized and disliked Ticketmaster’s fees are, a fair question is why do they charge so much? There are several factors that allow Ticketmaster to continue getting away with the high fees:
- Industry dominance – As the primary ticketing provider for many major venues, teams, and artists, Ticketmaster has enormous market leverage.
- Captive audiences – Music and sports fans are often willing to pay the fees to see their favorite performers and teams.
- Convenience – Despite the fees, many appreciate the convenience of Ticketmaster’s broad event inventory.
- Upsells – Ticketmaster heavily markets upgrades like prepaid parking, VIP packages & more at checkout.
- Hidden costs – Fees are mostly back-ended making base ticket prices look deceptively low.
- Diffused blame – Ticketmaster takes the heat for being the bad guy while venues, teams, and artists all benefit from their cut of the fees.
Essentially, Ticketmaster is able to get away with high fees because they face little competition and have enormous market power. As long as fans keep paying the fees to gain access to live events, the company has little incentive to lower them. The prevalence of add-on upsells also means Ticketmaster makes even more money from those willing to pay extra for upgrades and conveniences.
Does Ticketmaster Have Monopoly Power?
Given their industry dominance, Ticketmaster is sometimes accused of having an unfair monopoly on event ticketing. Critics argue the lack of competition allows them to charge exorbitant fees and take advantage of captive fan audiences.
However, Ticketmaster maintains that they do not actually have an unfair monopoly in the market. Some key counterpoints include:
- Ticketing is an open market – Venues, teams, and artists choose to use Ticketmaster but could also use other providers if they wanted to.
- Fees fund ticket sales – Ticketmaster provides the technology, marketing, sales infrastructure, and support that allows clients to sell their tickets.
- Other options exist – Rival ticketing companies like AXS, Altitude Tickets, Ticketfly and Universe provide viable alternatives.
- Reseller market – The existence of massive secondary ticket marketplaces like StubHub also promotes competition.
Despite these counterarguments, the fact remains that Ticketmaster still commands 80-90% market share of primary ticket sales for major concerts and events. Their exclusive long-term contracts with promoters like LiveNation also make it very hard for new entrants to take away business.
While Ticketmaster may not have an straight-up illegal monopoly, they certainly have many characteristics of a company with anti-competitive market control. Their market power and lack of pressure from direct rivals seems to enable the continued use of extremely high fees and charges to customers.
Is Ticketmaster Ripping You Off?
Given how seemingly inflated Ticketmaster’s fees tend to be, it’s understandable why many customers feel ripped off. However, Ticketmaster contends their fees simply represent the costs required to effectively operate their platform and provide services to clients.
Some of the key perspectives are:
- Consumer view – Fees are unfairly high simply to drive Live Nation profits and exploit captive fans.
- Ticketmaster view – Their technology and services aren’t free. The fees legitimately fund ticketing systems/support.
- Artist view – The fees allow Ticketmaster to handle marketing and sales so artists can focus on performing.
- Venue view – The fees provide venues and teams with risk-free income for every ticket sold.
Ultimately, whether you view the fees as reasonable or not depends largely on your perspective. There are certainly valid arguments on both sides.
The fees may seem more unfair for lower demand events where they represent a larger percentage markup. For hot events with sky-high market demand though, high fees are less surprising.
Tips for Saving on Ticketmaster Fees
No one relishes paying all the extra fees when buying tickets online. But are there ways to reduce the amounts you pay in fees? Here are some tips:
- Buy season ticket packages – Sporting events offer big savings when you buy season tickets and avoid per-ticket fees.
- Get pre-sale access – Special pre-sales like fan club memberships often have reduced/no fees before public on-sales.
- Use ticket presales – Presales through Citibank, Ticketmaster, Spotify, etc. sometimes have discounted fees.
- Buy group tickets – Ordering 10+ tickets often qualifies you for waived service fees.
- Buy from the box office – Buy direct from the venue to potentially avoid fees.
- Wait for discounts – Fees tend to be lower when tickets are first announced. Watch for sales closer to events.
- Buy resale tickets – Resale sites can have lower fees compared to Ticketmaster for sold out events.
- Choose e-tickets – Opting for digital delivery avoids print-at-home and shipping fees.
- Use promo codes – Check Ticketmaster for discount codes before purchasing.
Following some of these tips may help you save $5-$20 or more compared to just buying tickets when they initially go on sale. Over the course of a concert season the savings can really add up.
The Future of Ticketmaster Fees
Looking ahead, will anything change when it comes to the fees and charges imposed by Ticketmaster in the future? There are a few possible scenarios:
- Status quo remains – Ticketmaster could largely maintain their current fee structures if consumers keep paying.
- Lower fees – Competition could increase, forcing Ticketmaster to lower fees to stay competitive.
- Unbundled fees – Rather than one lump sum, fees could be broken out into line items to increase transparency.
- Regulation – The government could step in with consumer protections regarding fee amounts and disclosures.
- Vertical integration – Venues and artists may bundle tickets with merch and concessions to subsidize fees.
Realistically, Ticketmaster is unlikely make any voluntary moves to lower their fees unless significant competitive pressure emerges. Some analysts argue the best way to apply pressure is for more artists and teams to partner with competing ticketing platforms.
For now, expect the complaints about high ticket fees to continue as Ticketmaster shows no signs of backing away from one of their most lucrative revenue sources.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Ticketmaster utilizes a range of fees that substantially increase the cost of tickets for millions of fans every year. Services fees, order processing fees, facility charges, premium seat fees, and more pile on quickly making the final checkout total considerably higher than the initial ticket price. While Ticketmaster maintains the fees are justified to cover their ticketing services, many feel the amounts are inflated due to Ticketmaster’s dominant market position and lack of competition. The emergence of more viable rival ticketing platforms could potentially pressure Ticketmaster to lower their fees over time. But for now, expect the griping about expensive fees to continue as Ticketmaster remains largely unchallenged when it comes to major concert and event ticketing in North America.