Photo Credit: Ticketmaster
Ticketmaster has quietly introduced its all-in pricing feature where required by law—otherwise it’s a customer toggle. Here’s the latest.
‘Junk Fees’ made it into the President’s State of the Union address, prompting ticketing giants like Live Nation to address the problem. “We can stop service fees on tickets to concerts and sporting events and make companies disclose all the fees upfront,” the President said. The botched roll out of the Eras Tour tickets availability has left both fans and Congress questioning Live Nation’s handling of the ticketing experience.
“Fans typically know tickets will include service fees, but seeing the total cost from the start makes buying tickets easier and consistent with other retail shopping experiences,” Live Nation said back in June. Now the all-in pricing experience for Ticketmaster is here for states where it’s required by law, otherwise it’s a toggle.
Some states have started to pass laws requiring all-in pricing, so any events in New York and Tennessee will automatically have all-in pricing shown. Connecticut will follow on October 5, 2023. For other states where all-in pricing is not mandatory, Ticketmaster now offers a customer toggle. Fans can choose to see the all-in price on any event. The new toggle feature can be found in the ‘Filters’ section of the event page.
“Up-front pricing should be the start of comprehensive ticketing reform that protects consumers from price gouging and deceptive practices by predatory resellers,” says Stephen Parker, President of the National Independent Venues Association. (Live Nation is not a member.) “Other needed reforms such as banning speculative tickets and deceptive websites would further protect consumers in the ticketing marketplace.”
Speculative ticket pricing is what has driven some of the wild price swings in concert ticket prices, especially for acts like Bruce Springsteen. Tickets in The Bosses’ native Garden State went for thousands of dollars, while tickets to his Oklahoma stadium shows dipped to well below $10 during the tour. Live Nation and Ticketmaster have implemented the all-in ticket pricing strategy the events giant promised by September—but mostly only to fend off regulatory pressure.