Today, Wednesday, October 11, the Federal Trade Commission has proposed a ban on hidden concert ticket fees. According to Pitchfork, a press release written by the FTC, hidden concert ticket fees have cost more than tens of billions of dollars a year for many ticket buyers when they buy concert tickets.
The hidden concert ticket fees also negatively affect the total costs of hotel bookings, utility bills, etc. If the ban is potentially approved, businesses would have to include mandatory fees when listing prices. The FTC would potentially penalize businesses that do not comply with the proposed ban.
Lina M. Khan, who is the chair of the FTC, provided her viewpoint on the proposed ban on hidden concert ticket fees in a press release: “All too often, Americans are plagued with unexpected and unnecessary fees they can’t escape. These junk fees now cost Americans tens of billions of dollars per year—money that corporations are extracting from working families just because they can. By hiding the total price, these junk fees make it harder for consumers to shop for the best product or service and punish businesses who are honest upfront. The FTC’s proposed rule to ban junk fees will save people money and time, and make our markets more fair and competitive.”
Minnesota’s senator and the chair for the Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights, Amy Klobuchar, has since been monitoring Ticketmaster’s position as an alleged monopoly for the ticketing industry: She has since vocalized her views on the ticketing industry: “From buying a concert ticket to booking a flight, hidden fees are a constant challenge for consumers trying to make informed decisions on big purchases. We must put an end to these surprise costs so that consumers have the transparency they need and deserve. This announcement from the Administration is an important step towards ensuring that the price you see is the price you pay.”
The current president of the United States, President Joseph R. Biden, has vocalized his views on hidden concert ticket fees as well: “We can stop service fees on tickets to concerts and sporting events and make companies disclose all the fees upfront.”
This is not the only time both ticket-selling platforms, Ticketmaster and Live Nation, have faced issues with their hidden concert fees. In July of this year, the aforementioned ticket-selling platforms faced an anti-trust lawsuit from the Department of Justice for allegedly abusing and allegedly taking advantage of fans who buy tickets from their platform.
Leave a Comment