Biden claims victory in ‘junk fee’ fight with Ticketmaster and LiveNation policy changes

Mr Biden has been pushing to cut down on all manner of hidden fees since his State of the Union address earlier this year

President Joe Biden on Thursday claimed a measure of victory in his administration’s battle against surprise hidden fees that eat into consumers’ bottom lines by announcing a new agreement with two of the nation’s largest online ticket brokers, Ticketmaster and LiveNation.

Speaking at an event in the South Court Auditorium alongside National Economic Council Director Lael Brainard and others, Mr Biden highlighted his administration’s success in pushing companies to implement more fair billing practices, such as the Department of Transportation’s push to require airlines to refund customers and provide meal and lodging vouchers in cases of flight delays or cancellations, and other efforts to rid the banking sector of costly overdraft fees.

“Junk fees are not a matter for the wealthy very much, but they're a matter for working folks like homes I grew up in, and they can add hundreds of dollars a month and make it harder for families to pay their bills,” he said. “I think it's just wrong”.

The president said his administration’s work has inspired companies to change their practices, and told reporters he was “pleased” to be able to announce “even more progress” in the fight against “junk fees” — specifically the service fees ticketing companies charge in addition to the face value of tickets purchased online. Such fees are only revealed after consumers select a class of tickets, and often add significantly to the cost of attending concerts.

The solution to this problem, Mr Biden said, is “all-in pricing” practices in which fees are fully disclosed so consumers aren’t surprised when they get to the check-out process.

He said representatives of companies who were present at the White House on Thursday had either already implemented such practices or would do soon, including Live Nation, SeatGeek, xBk, Airbnb, the Pablo Center at the Confluence, TickPick, DICE, and the Newport Festivals Foundation.

“Some of them have used this process for years to sell tickets ... tens of millions of fans have already benefited from their decision. Others like Airbnb have started giving customers the option of seeing all in prices since we call for action last year, and other businesses are committing today,” he said.

Mr Biden said LiveNation — one of the country’s largest ticket brokers — will in September “automatically list all prices up front for all tickets to events at more than 200 venues of its own, benefiting over 30 million customers”.

He added that the company’s TicketMaster platform will soon allow its’ customers to offer consumers all-in pricing when buying tickets as well.

“These are just the latest private sector leaders who are responding to my call for action. I'm asking their competitors to follow suit and adopt all-in upfront pricing as well,” he said. “This is a win for consumers in my view, and proof that our crackdown on junk fees has real momentum”.