Ticketmaster is a ticket sales and distribution company that has become controversial due to the various fees it charges on top of the base price of tickets. Some common questions around Ticketmaster’s fees include:
What are all the fees Ticketmaster charges?
Ticketmaster charges a variety of fees on each ticket purchase. These include:
- Service fee – This covers the costs of operating the Ticketmaster platform and services.
- Order processing fee – For processing the ticket order.
- Delivery fee – For digital or physical delivery of the tickets.
- Facility charge – A fee added by the event venue.
- Convenience charge – For the convenience of buying tickets online or over the phone.
The exact amounts and names of these fees can vary based on the event, venue, and method of purchase.
Why does Ticketmaster charge all these fees?
Ticketmaster provides a number of services in facilitating ticket sales between venues and event organizers and consumers. These include:
- Providing the online ticket sales platform and infrastructure.
- Processing and securing ticket orders.
- Managing ticket inventory and distribution.
- Providing customer service for ticket purchases.
- Combating ticket fraud and scalping.
- Marketing events and selling tickets on behalf of clients.
The various fees allow Ticketmaster to cover the costs of providing these services and make a profit. The fees are ultimately passed down to consumers. Ticketmaster argues the fees provide convenience to customers for accessing tickets online easily and securely.
Are Ticketmaster’s fees too high?
Many consumers argue Ticketmaster’s fees are unreasonably high given the actual costs of providing digital ticket services today. Some of the criticisms include:
- Order processing and delivery fees often represent a large percentage (up to 30% or more) of the base ticket price.
- These fees are largely profit for Ticketmaster instead of covering just operating costs.
- Fees are not transparent or broken down upfront for customers.
- Fees can make tickets significantly more expensive than their face value.
Supporters counter that Ticketmaster operates in a capitalistic free market where consumers have alternatives like buying directly from venues if they don’t like the fees.
Are there ways to avoid Ticketmaster’s fees?
There are a few ways customers can potentially avoid or reduce some Ticketmaster fees:
- Buy tickets directly from the event venue if available.
- Use Ticketmaster’s Fan-to-Fan Ticket Resale marketplace, where fees are typically lower.
- Look for ticket discount codes that waive some fees.
- Buy group tickets which may have lower combined fees.
- Buy season or bundled event tickets when available.
- Buy general admission tickets which often have lower fees.
However, for many major concerts and events, Ticketmaster will still be the primary or exclusive ticket provider, making it hard to avoid their fees entirely.
Is Ticketmaster a monopoly?
Ticketmaster holds a dominant position in the primary ticket sales market, especially for major concerts and events. Critics have accused it of monopolistic practices for decades, but Ticketmaster maintains it does not violate antitrust laws for these reasons:
- Consumers have other ticket buying options besides Ticketmaster.
- Artists, teams, and venues choose Ticketmaster willingly as a business partner.
- The ticket resale market provides robust competition.
- Ticketmaster has lost some big clients like Pearl Jam showing it doesn’t control the whole market.
While not technically a monopoly by the legal definition, Ticketmaster does hold enough market share in primary ticket sales, especially for major live entertainment events, to worry regulators and consumers.
Is Ticketmaster’s dominance bad for consumers?
Many consumer advocates argue Ticketmaster’s position in the market allows it to charge excessively high fees that hurt customers. Specific concerns include:
- Fees and service charges significantly drive up ticket prices, making events unaffordable for many fans.
- Lack of fee transparency prevents consumers from making informed purchase decisions.
- Predatory restrictions block ticket transfers and resales in the secondary market.
- Venues lose pricing power and revenue share from high Ticketmaster fees.
- Artists may get less revenue which dampens their earnings and incentives.
- High fees support a broken system of bulk scalping and predatory bots snatching up tickets.
However, Ticketmaster argues the convenience, reliability and security its service provides makes obtaining tickets easier for the majority of consumers.
What is being done about Ticketmaster’s dominance and fees?
There have been increasing calls for investigation and action against Ticketmaster’s market position and fees. These include:
- Class action lawsuits by consumers challenging Ticketmaster’s fees.
- Calls for the FTC and states attorneys general to investigate antitrust concerns.
- Legislators proposing bills to regulate ticket fees and require fee disclosures.
- Artists like Bruce Springsteen speaking out against Ticketmaster’s practices.
- Venues like Madison Square Garden choosing alternative ticket sellers.
Despite many past attempts, regulators have taken limited concrete action thus far. However, the pressure continues to mount on Ticketmaster to lower or justify its fees.
Conclusion
Ticketmaster’s vast array of fees on ticket purchases remain controversial and often frustrating for consumers. While the company argues it needs these fees to cover its operating costs and services, many feel these fees are unreasonably high and take advantage of Ticketmaster’s dominant position in the primary ticket market. Efforts continue to increase oversight, transparency and competition in the industry. But for now, outrageous service fees remain a vexing reality for many concert and event goers. Consumers can try to avoid them where possible, but have limited recourse otherwise.
