Fifteen dollars for a concert ticket to a lesser-known band’s latest tour stop? Sure, why not? With the price of movie tickets continuously on the rise, concert tickets seem like bargains. And at face value, they are. After the seemingly endless service fees, however, a fifteen dollar concert ticket could actually run a total of as much as 35 dollars. Suddenly, it is the movie ticket that sounds like the steal.
Die-hard fans of any band would undoubtedly be willing to pay even the most excessive of prices for concert tickets. But how can a band build its fan base if only existing fans are willing to go to its concerts? While the base prices for concert tickets are not unreasonable, excessive service fees and taxes discourage casual fans from attending these live performances.
Today, nearly all tickets are purchased online through either reputable sellers like Ticketmaster or resellers like StubHub. The main cause for these excessive service fees is Ticketmaster’s virtual monopoly on online ticket sales of all events imaginable. This monopoly is generally overlooked due to the façade of diverse competition; in actuality, ticket sellers LiveNation, TicketsNow, TicketWeb and even House of Blues are all affiliates of omnipresent Ticketmaster.
While service fees are indeed necessary for the touring band, play or troupe to cover the cost of venue usage and other incidentals, online sellers such as Ticketmaster tack on even more of these fees than what is truly required. Until a few years ago, it was actually more expensive to print out an online ticket at home than to have the ticket sent by mail. Ticketmaster took advantage of last-minute online ticket purchasers who had no choice but to pay the higher fee in order to receive their tickets in time for the show.
Nevertheless, resale sites are not any better. On many of these sites, the resellers purposely purchase the best seats early in order to resell them later for ridiculous profits. Not only are they discouraging casual event attendees, but they are also taking advantage of die-hard fans.
While most event-goers have accepted hefty service fees as necessary evils, many are nevertheless excessive and for the sole benefit of the ticket promoter or retailer. However, through consumer awareness, it is hopeful that online ticket retailers will eventually realize that the lowering of fees is the only efficient way to boost revenue. During times of economic struggle, surely it is silly to expect ideal event attendance when even the worst of seats costs as much as a decent family dinner.
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