President Joe Biden will announce Thursday that ticketing giants Ticketmaster and Live Nation have committed to providing consumers with full prices up front, ending surprise fees at checkout for online purchases.
Biden is scheduled to convene a White House roundtable on Thursday with companies that have committed to disclosing fees to consumers in advance. The roundtable will include representatives from Live Nation, SeatGeek, xBk, Airbnb, TickPick, DICE, Newport Festivals Foundation and the Pablo Center at Confluence.
Live Nation Entertainment formed a merger with Ticketmaster in 2010. According to the White House, Live Nation promises that all tickets for its shows sold through Ticketmaster will show a «clear full price» starting in September. Ticketmaster will also add a feature that allows consumers the option to view prices in advance for all other tickets sold on the platform.
Other ticketing platforms, such as SeatGeek and xBk, have committed to introducing options for consumers to see full prices, the White House said.
“President Biden has been working to reduce costs for working families by reducing inflation, capping insulin prices for seniors, and eliminating hidden junk fees,” Lael Brainard, director of the National Economic Council, said in a statement. release. «More businesses are heeding the president’s call for Americans to know what they’re paying for up front and save money as a result.»
The announcement comes after the Biden administration began pushing to crack down on so-called «junk fees» charged by banks and other businesses ahead of last year’s midterm elections as part of an effort to reduce fees. costs to Americans amid record inflation.
Biden highlighted his commitment in his State of the Union address in February, urging passage of a bill to prevent «junk fees» and hidden surcharges. The president also asked Congress to pass a law called Garbage Fee Protection Act to address excessive fares at concerts, sporting and entertainment events, and airfares.
In March, the White House also urged states to expand their efforts to crack down on surprise fees consumers are forced to pay on everything from rental housing to cable bills.
The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing in January to examine Ticketmaster’s outsized role in the ticketing industry in the wake of last year’s Taylor Swift concert debacle that involved long wait times and technical problems. Ticketmaster canceled public ticket sales for the tour at the time, citing «extraordinarily high demands on ticketing systems and insufficient remaining ticket inventory to meet that demand.»