Joe Biden to Crack Down on Ticketing Fees

Joe Biden is promising to crack down on hidden ticket fees for concertgoers, but who knows if he will actually follow through, and if he does, if it will help.

“I know hidden junk fees—like processing fees on concert tickets—are a pain,” he said in a Tweet, according to Metal Injection. “They’re unfair, deceptive, and add up. That’s why, last week, I called on my Administration to crack down on these fees and put that money back in your pocket.”

We all know these fees can be annoying, and of course, in the capitalist hellscape we’re living in, any bit of money we can get back would be great. But a Tweet doesn’t mean Biden is actually going to take action, and there are other issues at play besides just hidden fees.

Another major issue is the fact that there are only a handful of big companies who handle shows that aren’t local and DIY. And therefore, they control the fees and prices paid across the board. Some shows are so expensive even for the cheapest seats that fans have a hard time affording them, and others are subject to bots buying out tickets as soon as they go on sale, not leaving any room for people to log in and make purchases

And, as Metal Injection points out, Ticketmaster merging with Live Nation back in 2010 created a monopoly in the concert sector. A group called Break up Ticketmaster aims to put an end to the monopoly and is made up of the American Economic Liberties Project, Sports Fans Coalition, Fight Corporate Monopolies, More Perfect Union, Fan Freedom, the Consumer Federation of America, the National Consumers League, and the Artist Rights Alliance.

So, wether Biden takes action or not, there’s a lot of work to be done to change the landscape of ticket buying and make things more equitable.