Richard Blumenthal says company acts like it has ‘get-out-of-jail-free card’ as records show it upping fees to cut losses
Senators slammed Ticketmaster for raising ticket fees following a regulatory crackdown on hidden charges as revealed in a report by the Guardian last week.
The Federal Trade Commission last May began requiring Ticketmaster to disclose concert ticket fees upfront – a practice known as all-in pricing. The company eliminated the order processing fee it charged at the the end of a transaction to comply with the rule.
But documents obtained by the Guardian in public records requests show how Ticketmaster simply raised other fees so it wouldn’t lose money.
If I have to pay Ticketmaster to see your band play, I don’t need to see your band play.
The problem is that they also own the venues. It’s a vertical integration-style monopoly that needs to be regulated out of existence.
Unfortunately in the US, antitrust law might as well not exist due to lack of enforcement because politicians are paid off.
The comment you’re replying to is still valid. Will it limit your options of what you can attend? For sure.
The US cannot boycott anything, but if they did, the venue owners would fold in less than 60 days.
We’d need to get the people who can afford these tickets to begin with to boycott.