Live Nation, SeatGeek agree to all-in pricing

US president Joe Biden has announced that Live Nation and SeatGeek have pledged to adopt all-in ticket pricing, which will enable fans to see the full cost of their transactions upfront.

The move comes four months after Biden called out “junk fees” in his State of the Union address and nine months after he first called for the reduction or elimination of hidden fees, charges, and add-ons for concert tickets.

Live Nation has been a vocal proponent of all-in pricing: it was recently described as “the best consumer experience everywhere” by company president/CFO Joe Berchtold and rolled into LN’s Fair Ticketing Act, launched earlier this year.

Biden will be joined today by representatives of firms who have made new commitments, including LN, SeatGeek and Des Moines, Iowa-based venue xBk, in addition to platforms that already provide all-in pricing as part of their business models, such as Dice and the Newport Festivals Foundation.

“The companies that are making new commitments today will improve the purchasing experience for tens of millions of customers annually”

“The companies that are making new commitments today will improve the purchasing experience for tens of millions of customers annually,” says a statement from The White House. “These commitments are in response to the president’s call to action on junk fees in his State of the Union. For example, shortly after the State of the Union, Live Nation expressed interest to the administration in announcing a commitment to offer all-in upfront pricing through its Ticketmaster platform.

“Today, Live Nation is committing to roll out an upfront all-in pricing experience in September showing just one clear, total price for more than 30 million fans who attend shows at the more than 200 Live Nation-owned venues and festivals across the country. Ticketmaster will also add a feature to give consumers the option to receive all-in upfront pricing for all other tickets sold on the platform.”

Biden suggests the move is merely a “first step” and is continuing to call on Congress to pass legislation that mandates up-front all-in pricing for all ticket sellers.

“Today’s voluntary actions demonstrate that companies both big and small recognise the importance of providing consumers with honest, up-front all-in pricing, rather than tricking them with surprise fees at the end of checkout,” adds the statement.

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