It’s one of the most infuriating parts of trying to buy tickets in recent years — the addition of bullshit, no good, super expensive fees that somehow get tacked on at the last minute. More often than not, those additional fees make an affordable ticket to see your favorite band perform balloon into a more costly endeavor than you originally thought. It’s fucking frustrating and a pure example of corporate greed fucking up something fun.
Well, after multiple threats and official proposals in Washington D.C., the Federal Trade Commission handed down a ruling earlier today that effectively bans what they call “junk fees” across a number of entertainment and hospitality industries, including online concert ticket sales.
The Biden Administration has sought to address “junk fees” for a while now, with the president even going so far as to personally call for the end of the bait-and-switch practice once and for all. Since last October, a proposal was on the table demanding that all mandatory fees be posted up front. As you may recall, most of the time those additional fees only become apparent as you’re just a few clicks away from confirming your order, forcing you to either eat those additional costs or reconsider if you’re even going to the concert at all.
In the new bipartisan decision, all fees will be detailed throughout the concert ticket buying process. This also applies to any previously undisclosed fees that crop up while booking a hotel or vacation rental.
FTC Chair Lina M. Khan said in a statement that the move was to make things easier for the American consumer.
“People deserve to know upfront what they’re being asked to pay — without worrying that they’ll later be saddled with mysterious fees that they haven’t budgeted for and can’t avoid. The FTC’s rule will put an end to junk fees around live event tickets, hotels, and vacation rentals, saving Americans billions of dollars and millions of hours in wasted time.”
Now, in all fairness it should be noted that both Ticketmaster and Live Nation opted into a pricing system that already includes all fees in their final price.
Following the FTC’s decision, Live Nation released a statement in which they said they were happy about the ruling, pointing to the fact that they’d already offered all-in pricing.
All of this also comes just months after the House of Representatives passed the TICKET Act, in which they demanded the ticket industry become way more transparent with their pricing structure. As it stands, it’s likely heading to the Senate as soon as this weekend for a vote before potentially heading to the president’s desk.open a can of whoop ass on the bots, scalpers, venues, ticketing companies, managers and artists alike who rip off and deceive the public.”
We’ll have to see if anything comes of all this. In the meantime, Kid Rock did say he’d help incoming President Donald Trump “open a can of whoop ass on the bots, scalpers, venues, ticketing companies, managers and artists alike who rip off and deceive the public.” While you all know my politics at this point, you should know that if Trump and Rock pull that off, I’ll be the first to sing their praises.
