A new bill in New York State that’s heading to the Governor’s desk would ban hidden fees on concert tickets.
Should Governor Kathy Hochul sign the bill, which she is expected to do, ticketing companies will be required to show “all in” prices up front. This requirement will apply to primary and resale tickets.
This means all service and ancillary fees will be in the initial listing as opposed to only appearing in the final stages of the purchase process. With security checks and payment information input, there can be multiple pages before customers see a final price when buying tickets.
The new law will also ban sellers from listing the final price in a smaller font size. The bill passed the New York state senate and assembly on June 3, 2022.
Marla Ostroff, managing director of Ticketmaster released a statement to Billboard in support to the new bill stating: “We are supportive of industry-wide reforms and believe even more can be done to aid artists in delivering tickets to fans at their set price points.”
Ticketmaster is one of the largest ticket providers in the world, and has been consistently under fire for their handling of fees and increased prices. A landmark case happened back in 1995 when Pearl Jam sued the ticketing service over its pricing practices.
Featured image provided by The Associated Press
