Following a wave of laws banning the shock fees that seem on the finish of a transaction, Ticketmaster stopped charging the additional few {dollars} it added to every order at checkout. Typically shared with the venue, the order processing payment was a boon to a world platform that sells a whole lot of hundreds of thousands of tickets a yr.
But paperwork obtained by the Guardian present that whereas Ticketmaster eradicated this payment to adjust to the foundations, the corporate merely raised the price of totally different fees in various its venues to make sure it didn’t lose cash.
“To account for the loss of order processing revenue, we must adjust fees to offset the revenue loss,” Ticketmaster wrote in an e mail to the Findlay Toyota Center in Arizona final yr. The venue eradicated a $6 order processing payment, however raised the service payment on every ticket by $2 as an alternative.
The e mail was included as a part of Ticketmaster’s contract with the venue and obtained by way of a public information request. The Guardian obtained the agreements for 26 publicly owned venues across the nation, starting from city theatres to stadiums such because the Rose Bowl in Pasadena and the Alamodome in San Antonio.
Nearly all of the contracts describe an order processing payment just like the one within the Findlay Toyota Center that’s not permitted. At least eight venues amended their contracts to lift other fees following the all-in pricing guidelines, contracts and emails present.
Former regulators advised the Guardian that rolling an unlawful payment into one other cost might violate the Federal Trade Commission’s rule towards misrepresenting fees, which took impact final May.
John Newman, a former economist on the Federal Trade Commission and a legislation professor on the University of Memphis, who reviewed the memos, referred to as them “potentially concerning”.
Just eliminating the processing payment might not be sufficient to adjust to the regulation, he stated. “Ticketmaster may effectively still be charging the fee, just disguising it as something else. That type of behavior can run afoul of the FTC rule.”
Ticketmaster didn’t reply to detailed questions on the way it responded to the state and federal pricing laws together with what number of venues raised fees in response to the all-in pricing guidelines.
“Since May 2025, tickets on Ticketmaster.com have displayed the full price upfront in line with the FTC’s all-in pricing rule. We also provide explanations of fees during the purchase process and maintain a dedicated page with additional information,” the corporate stated in an announcement.
Live Nation Entertainment, which incorporates each Live Nation and Ticketmaster, is dealing with an antitrust trial over allegations it operates an unlawful monopoly within the reside music trade. Much of the case has centered on whether or not the corporate makes use of long-term, unique contracts with venues to stifle competitors.
The Department of Justice abruptly reached a settlement with the corporate solely days after the trial started in early March, drawing criticism from several lawmakers, who referred to as the deal “weak”. A coalition of greater than 30 states selected to proceed the litigation. Live Nation Entertainment has denied that it operates a monopoly.
The Biden administration first introduced a crackdown on “junk fees” in October 2022, coining the phrase to explain a spread of extreme charges, together with lodge resort fees, bank card late fees and ticket service fees. The initiative turned integral to Biden’s attraction to working-class voters as the final election approached.
“Junk fees may not matter to the very wealthy, but they matter to most other folks in homes like the one I grew up in, like many of you did,” Biden stated in his State of the Union handle in February 2023.
Executives at Live Nation Entertainment took notice. In an earnings call simply days after Biden’s speech, the corporate’s chief monetary officer, Joe Berchtold, stated Ticketmaster was unfairly lumped into the dialog about junk fees, explaining that “most of the money goes to the venues. They think the service charges are just some arbitrary add-on to Ticketmaster pockets, which is not the case.”
Live Nation Entertainment agreed with a proposal to ban junk fees, Berchtold continued. In truth, the corporate was advocating for laws mandating all-in pricing so customers might see the overall worth of a ticket upfront, together with any fees. The coverage wouldn’t have any materials impression on the enterprise, he added.
But Ticketmaster had already included protections in various its ticketing service contracts. Documents obtained by the Guardian present that in a minimum of 18 venue agreements, the corporate reserved the proper to renegotiate fees and guarantee it remained “reasonably compensated” if any charges have been not permitted. Essentially, even when regulators eradicated sure fees, the contracts gave Ticketmaster a technique to recuperate that misplaced income.
Ticketmaster is a quantity enterprise. Last yr, it earned fees on 346m tickets and made about $3bn in income, in line with company filings. While that represents the variety of tickets offered globally, it illustrates how profitable an additional couple of {dollars} added to every order is for the corporate.
In June 2023, Live Nation Entertainment attended a White House roundtable alongside executives from SeatGeek and Airbnb. The firm agreed to start “all-in pricing” for tickets offered at its venues so customers weren’t shocked by extra fees on the finish of a transaction. It didn’t embody any pledge to decrease fees or ticket costs, however Biden referred to as it a “win for consumers”.
State lawmakers started to contemplate regulating fees as properly. In October of that yr, California handed legislation banning hidden fees. While there was no restriction on the quantity of fees a enterprise might cost, the legislation required all obligatory charges to be included within the worth of an excellent or a service.
By the time the legislation took impact in July 2024, Ticketmaster had written letters to a number of venues in California that it was scrapping its order processing payment with the intention to comply, in line with information obtained by the Guardian.
To offset the misplaced income, the corporate wrote to town of Sacramento that the quantity Ticketmaster retained on every ticket to occasions on the metropolis conference middle complicated would go up by about 25%. Instead of $3.45 on every ticket, it will now earn $4.25 on every ticket. The firm despatched town of Cerritos an almost an identical letter elevating Ticketmaster’s minimize of every ticket at a performing arts venue in response to the brand new legislation as properly, paperwork present.
It was throughout the bounds of California’s legislation. Still, the communications illustrate the bounds of transparency legal guidelines to control dominant gamers, stated John Kwoka, an economics professor at Northeastern University who has written regularly in regards to the firm in addition to suggested state attorneys basic on litigation.
In a aggressive market, customers would possibly select a ticketing supplier with decrease fees, he stated. But since Ticketmaster is the unique vendor for ticketing providers of about 80% of the nation’s venues, alternate options are sometimes unavailable. If a fan desires to see a present at a venue that has an unique ticketing contract with Ticketmaster – they should pay the fees.
“Since we remain largely hostage to Ticketmaster,” stated Kwoka, “they have simply shifted which hand they have in our pockets.”
Other states adopted California’s legislation, together with Colorado, Virginia and Minnesota. The Federal Trade Commission proposed a rule to implement all-in pricing on the nationwide stage, too. And when the regulation was formally issued within the remaining days of the Biden administration, Live Nation Entertainment, once more, publicly supported it.
“We’ve led the industry by adopting all-in pricing at all Live Nation venues and festivals, and applaud the FTC’s industry-wide mandate so fans will now be able to see the total price of a ticket right upfront no matter where they go to see a show or buy a ticket,” the corporate wrote in a December 2024 press launch.
By the time the federal rule took impact final May, Ticketmaster had quietly raised fees in a minimum of 4 other venues it contracted with, contracts present. Venues in Arizona, Florida, Missouri and Georgia eradicated the processing payment to adjust to the all-in pricing rule however elevated other charges as an alternative. The Wintrust Arena in Chicago raised ticket fees by 2.3%. Florida State University raised ticket fees by 3%.
But the federal rule has extra restrictions than the California legislation. While it doesn’t restrict the quantity of fees that companies might cost, corporations might not misrepresent their fees and should disclose why they’re charging them.
Serena Viswanathan, a former lawyer for the Federal Trade Commission who labored on the rule stated together with this language within the regulation “is about being honest and transparent to consumers about what they’re paying”.
When corporations use phrases like “processing” or “service” fees, it’s tough for a client to know what they’re actually paying for, she added. The rule was meant to finish a few of that obscurity.
“It really shows that all of these fees are kind of made up,” stated Viswanathan.
Ultimately, solely the FTC has the authority to find out whether or not Ticketmaster is in compliance with its own rule. Separately, the company filed a suit towards Ticketmaster and its guardian firm final September, which included allegations that the corporate deceived customers by hiding obligatory fees till the tip of the transaction.
Live Nation Entertainment disputed the allegation in its response, pointing to its compliance with the FTC’s regulation requiring all-in pricing.
A spokesperson for the FTC stated it didn’t remark on particular person practices of corporations.
