Junk Ticket Fee Protections: NITO Pushes FTC for Stronger Rules

The National Independent Talent Association (NITO) and its member booking agencies and managers and the thousands of artists they represent, has asked the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to expand its ticket junk fee protections.

Music Agents, Managers ask FTC to expand Junk Ticket Fee protections

In December, the FTC announced new rules on junk fees targeting both live-event tickets and short-term lodging. The rules, scheduled to go into effect in mid-April, will prohibit hiding fees from consumers and ensure that the total price is listed up front.

The new FTC rules will effectively make all-in pricing of concert tickets the national standard, but NITO says that they don’t go far enough.

“The new FTC rule is a positive step forward in setting a national standard for event tickets. No longer will some fans abandon their tickets at check out when the price balloons past their budget,” NITO Executive Director Nathaniel Marro said in a statement. “But it does nothing to reduce the junk fees buried inside each concert ticket. Transparency that shows the price gap between the amount that an artist wants to charge and the amount the fan pays has been lost with this ruling. As an industry we must still work to keep fees in check to ensure basic entertainment does not become a luxury good.”

NITO sent this request to the FTC:

“The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recent ruling aims to improve the ticket-buying process for fans and now requires ticket sellers to list the checkout price up front in the purchase process. This should help fans compare prices between primary and secondary ticket sellers and we applaud the FTC for this action. NITO always recommends that fans first visit the artist’s official website or check their social media for all ticketing info and purchase tickets via the primary ticket seller when available.

The FTC’s junk fee ruling however does nothing to address or reduce actual junk fees that are now buried inside each concert ticket. Transparency that shows the price gap between the amount that an artist wants to charge and the amount the fan pays has been lost with this ruling.

NITO will continue to work with industry stakeholders to limit the costs passed onto consumers and ensure concert goers pay a fair price to see their favorite artists.”

Bruce Houghton