Whenever I purchase a ticket, a question that often bothers me is why do I have to pay those additional charges that just appear out of nowhere? That’s the question I often ask myself.
"However, today I would like to share my own point of view and the result of some research on one of the topics that greatly influencing entertainment spectators all over the world – Ticketmaster fees. These often-disputed destructors have a vital validity to both the general public and the industry at large.
In this all-around analysis, we are going to investigate the different kinds of fees, the background of them throughout history, and the aftershocks they trigger in the entertainment sector. Through this article, I am optimistic that you will have a clearer understanding of these charges and also have in your arsenal the necessary strategies to comfortably deal with the ticketing process.
Understanding Ticketmaster Fees: A Breakdown
On the issue of service charges, Ticketmaster, the main rival in the e-tickets sector, has developed a very complicated pricing arrangement that can easily leave the buyer at a loss as to which fees are for what services. To further break down the primary types of fees that you might face are:
Service Fees: These are the most common fees that range from 10% to 20% of the ticket face value which are charged for the services of having a ticket sold to the customer.
Facility Charges: These are fees that are clearly stated as being used for maintenance and improvements to the venue which the event was taking place in.
Processing Fees: This charge is transported to each order regardless of the fact that you are only asking for one ticket or several tickets in any case.
Delivery Fees: There is an offering where these fees are for mailing physical tickets or providing print-at-home options.
It’s vital to stress that the price of these fees can change heavily depending on the event, the venue, and maybe even the way the tickets are delivered. In extreme cases, the net fees can amount to over 30% of the ticket’s face value.
The Evolution of Ticketmaster Fees
Ticketmaster’s marketing practices have a long and quite contentious past. The firm, which was started in 1976, was initially only charging a small amount on each ticket sale to cover the costs which its newly developed computerized ticketing system had incurred. The fees began to rise when as they reaped benefits and gained exclusive contracts with big places and this trend has continued steadily.
During the nineteen-nineties period, Ticketmaster was caught up in several disputes which included a famous case with the band Pearl Jam over the issue of what the group considered to be high fees. Despite this and other challenges, the structure of the fees collected by Ticketmaster has simply been working as advertised even though there were some variations that took place over the years.
Comparing Ticketmaster to Competitors
Ticketmaster is a name well and truly synonymous with ticket fees but it should be mentioned that nearly all ticketing websites also add the fees to the base price. Conversely, the frequency and transparency of the charges might be other. For example, the application of:
StubHub generally makes a buyer pay a 10% fee as well as a seller to pay a 15% fee.
AXS on the other hand has a higher percentage of delivery charges but usually lower service fees.
Eventbrite sometimes offers reduced fees such as 2% plus $0.79 for a few of their events. It is even possible just to get a 2% reduction without adding a value of 79 cents which can be used as the percentage for selling a paid ticket.
Despite this, Ticketmaster’s near completeness of the market and its contracts with the major venues result in the situation that in the majority of cases, alternatives are not a reality for a large number of major events.
The Impact on Consumers and the Industry
Ticketmaster’s policies on fees are not only implicated in individual ticket purchases but they have far-reaching consequences as well. Here we have some intersecting points:
Higher Overall Costs: The fees rise, and as such, the price that consumers have to pay also rises. The extent of fees causing a consumer to pay more than the price of the event ticket even to the tune of about 30% or more is bloody clear at times.
Reduced Transparency: Often the actual cost of attending an event is unraveled only at the last fifth of the purchase process because of the check-out screen.
Market Distortion: High fares have the power to indirectly pull people out of some events resulting in disinviting consumers.
Artist Relationships: Some bands and individual musicians have been demanding the reduction of fees reflecting their concern that the charges may alienate fans.
The above conditions have shifted many consumers to organic protesting. Consumer Reports noted in their 2018 survey that 54% of the respondents who had been movie and entertainment event attendants in the past two years complained about troublesome, unacceptable charges in one form another – two out of every five had the fear of them being “too high” or “unclear”.
Legal and Regulatory Challenges
Ticketmaster’s pricing schemes have been the subject of several legal cases through the years. In 2019, they paid a sum of $4.5 million to the plaintiff in a lawsuit that occurred in Canada for the reason of the lawsuit being advertised for a ticket advertising that was deceitful according to the Transparency Act. US comments to provide for a more transparent fee disclosure have been registered among other things. The regulation of the whole industry will be a greater topic in the USA.
Ticketmaster’s Point of View
The firm claims that the charges that they receive are necessary because of the need for the company to run the transaction management system that works as well as good customer service that is performed on their web page, and incentivize work on social media sites with the money made from this fee.
Besides, Ticketmaster advises that a part of their fees goes to the venues and promoters, among the advantages of it, is the strengthening of the system through the profit, it is a part of the mechanism as well.
Consumer Strategies
Especially with regard to the fees which may be inevitable to some extent but there are measures that the clients can take to at least lessen the blow in the long run:
Go to the box office directly and try out the cost of getting the ticket there. Like this, in the case the fee is big it will be easily identifiable and if the theater is not able to sell the ticket the number of the ticket it sold will be one which if it is more the box office is selling the ticket then it will be a case of them selling out and gaining money so that they will not need to get tickets from other sources. This will also imply that the were not any third parties like the ticket scalpers responsible for increasing the prices.
Sign up for the presale, as there are sometimes a reduced service fee because presales are reserved for groups of loyal or privileged people.
Online run times etc. should also be looked at to check for any discrepancies.
Think of buying tickets altogether through a season ticket plan or a package deal.
Industry Perspectives and Future Trends
The ticketing industry has been undergoing changes lately with some new technologies and business models which are finding their way into the variety of options. Some of the facilities as well as artists happen to be asymptotic with atypical ticketing schemes that employ dynamic pricing or Internet protocols, on demand technologies to confront cost-related anxieties.
Going forward, we can foresee potential fee transparency push that could be fueling by regulatory actions. Besides the fees caused by hosting, mentions of them can be expected in the descriptions that will come up on the screen in the coming time.
Conclusion
The issue of Ticketmaster fees has remained very controversial in the entertainment industry that also influences the ticket buyers and performers. The company has put forward the point that the fees are essential to the functioning of the company in the case of the client running the transactions system by as well as the process of the customer service which is done through their page and the incentive work that is performed by this fee.
In addition, they also have shared the venues and promoters which also use the profit that is made from this fee to strengthen the system and thus it is an essential part of the mechanism.
Going forward it is essential to give the consumer the information that they need relating to the process they go through and how it ends up. In this way, they can also do the selection of things they consider preferable. Thrilling as it may be, a night of live entertainment might not have to come with such high costs as are currently being experienced.
Discover more from AGENDAPEDIA
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.