An Op-Ed peice published this week in the Courier Journal in Louisville is calling on lawmakers to take long-delayed action on the so-called TICKET Act, which would require true all-in ticket pricing for live events across the U.S. Its author, Brian Hess, is the leader of the Sports Fans Coalition, which has advocated for better regulations in the ticketing economy for many years, including better transparency for consumers on tickets and ticket pricing.
“We’ve all come to accept that additional fees are part of doing business if you want to see live sports,” the article reads, in part. “Still, having these fees incorporated from the start instead of sprung on fans at checkout would make buying tickets so much easier and force ticket sellers to better compete on price.”
The argument in favor of all-in pricing is compelling: If a consumer can’t avoid paying a fee, why is it reasonable for the seller to advertise any price that doesn’t include that fee. In short, Hess says, “to do anything short of all-in pricing is deception plain and simple.”
Showing its support for the renewed call for action, the Republican press office for the Senate Committee on Commerce Science, and Transportation echoed Hess in its sharing of the Op-Ed, indicating that Congress should “side with fans, not corporations” and pass the act. That committee is chaired by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Washington), who co-authored the TICKET Act with the committee’s ranking member, Ted Cruz (R-Texas).
All-in pricing is unique among the various improvements to the consumer ticketing experience being discussed at the legislative level in that it is fairly universally agreed upon by all of the players within the industry itself. Event promoters, sports teams, primary ticket vendors, and resale marketplaces have all indicated they support the concept of displaying prices inclusive of all fees – but only if it is required, rather than voluntary.
This is due in large part to the ample amount of real world evidence that shows the marketing advantage of hiding fees if your competition isn’t – StubHub famously switched to all-in pricing a decade ago, only to switch back to the hidden fee model after its competition grabbed big chunks of its market share by not following it to the fee-inclusive pricing model.
Even companies that appeared at a press conference with President Biden showing their support for the “all-in” ticket pricing model haven’t actually made the switch by default – with Live Nation Entertainment CEO Michael Rapino quickly blaming his companies own partners and competition for why it had only allowed consumers to view the prices for listings on Ticketmaster including fees by turning a feature on, rather than that being the default and only option.
“We agree wholeheartedly that tickets to live entertainment events should be marketed, listed and sold to fans using the full ticket price, all per ticket fees included. The all-in price should be the price fans see throughout the shopping and purchase process,” wrote Rapino in response Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar’s open questioning of why consumers still had to actively search for a toggle to view prices including fees in most states despite the high profile promise from Live Nation, Ticketmaster, TickPick, and SeatGeek earlier this year.
“Ticketmaster does not have the unilateral right to [make all-in pricing the default],” he says. “[It] is an agent for the venues that issue tickets and along with content owners (artists, sports teams, etc.) determine ticket pricing and how fees are displayed.”
At the moment, there are several pieces of legislation that have proposed to make “all-in” pricing the default at the Federal level, superseding the patchwork of state laws that currently exist. The TCruz/Cantwell TICKET Act deals almost exclusively with the elimination of “junk fees” after a section regulating so-called “speculative” ticket listings (where a seller lists tickets for sale that they do not yet own but promise to provide in time for the show) was lobbied away – presumably at the behest of Live Nation or its operatives. Another is far more comprehensive – but the BOSS and SWIFT Act has already drawn significant opposition from both Live Nation Entertainment and the Irving Azoff-related Fix The Tix Coalition, which are both lobbying for legislation that allows promoters and ticketing agencies to effectively declare their own competition as illegal.
Beyond legislation, the Biden Administration (via the Federal Trade Commission) has also promised it will make rules that make “all-in” pricing the reality for ticketing and other industries.
“We want companies competing on price, not on their ability to hide prices from consumers,” a Biden Administration official told CNN. “So what our rule would do is require upfront pricing, so that consumers can look for the ticket seller with the best deal and an honest business and have a fair chance to compete.”
According to Hess and other industry advocates, all-in pricing via the TICKET Act is an important first step.
