“_MG_7348” by dbking is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

On Tuesday, Dec. 18, the Federal Trade Commission announced the Junk Fees Rule, which will address widespread complaints about the live entertainment industry by banning deceptive fees added to initial prices at the point of purchase. The rule, which also targets the short-term lodging industry, arrives amid a period of increased scrutiny on the business practices of giants in live event ticketing as a meaningful win for American concertgoers.

The Junk Fees Rule does not ban high fees outright, nor the pricing strategy of subdividing the total into incremental additions, but rather requires that ticketing and rental agents display the full price up-front. The true total price, inclusive of any additional fees, must be displayed more prominently than any other pricing information –addressing a concern voiced by industry insiders that holdouts would gain a competitive advantage to companies that adopted all-in pricing prior to the mandate. The Junk Fees Rule will go into effect 120 days after its publication in the Federal Register, plotting the cut-off in mid-April of next year.

“People deserve to know up-front what they’re being asked to pay—without worrying that they’ll later be saddled with mysterious fees that they haven’t budgeted for and can’t avoid,” said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan in the organization’s official release. “The FTC’s rule will put an end to junk fees around live event tickets, hotels, and vacation rentals, saving Americans billions of dollars and millions of hours in wasted time.”

The FTC’s Junk Fees Rule is the culmination of two years of examination by the regulators, finalized one year after its initial proposal. Since the organization first stated its intention to intervene, ticketing companies including Live Nation, SeatGeek and TickPick moved to all-in pricing in a pledge with President Biden. “We’ve led the industry by adopting all-in pricing at all Live Nation venues and festivals and applaud the FTC’s industry-wide mandate so fans will now be able to see the total price of a ticket right upfront no matter where they go to see a show or buy a ticket,” Live Nation offered in a statement.

While the new rule is a symbolic victory for consumer protections, some advocates for intervention in live event ticketing have voiced concern that it does not go far enough to prevent exploitative pricing. The passage of the Junk Fees Rule may defer further legislation, which could address the longstanding demand for ticketing companies to outline what share of pricing is directed to musicians and entertainers, and who receives the remainder.

“Unfortunately, FTC sided with Ticketmaster and StubHub over artists on the crucial question of requiring itemization of face-value price and fees,” the Future of Music Coalition tweeted on Tuesday. “The new rule means that more of your ticket’s overall price could consist of fees, while less will make it to artists.”

The Junk Fees Rule is the latest high-profile moment in a series of legal actions that have dominated music industry headlines in 2024. In May, the U.S. Justice Department filed a landmark lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment, alleging that its parent company, Ticketmaster, violated consumer rights and antitrust laws as it came to control an estimated 70% of the live event market and ticket sales; Live Nation called the allegations “baseless,” and added that “The DOJ’s lawsuit won’t solve the issues fans care about relating to ticket prices, service fees, and access to in-demand shows.”

Just weeks before that, ​​U.S. House of Representatives passed the TICKET Act, cracking down on exploitative fees and after-market price-hiking through increased accountability for the major ticketing companies. After passing with a landslide 388-24 vote, the bill will be included in the Senate’s continuing resolution spending bill, to be voted on before the shutdown deadline on Friday, Dec. 20.

“I urge enforcers to continue cracking down on these unlawful fees and encourage state and federal policymakers to build on this success with legislation that bans unfair and deceptive junk fees across the economy,” Khan charged in closing. Read the FTC’s full release here.

Federal Trade Commission announces bipartisan Rule banning junk ticket and hotel fees:https://t.co/mOcElFNwAv pic.twitter.com/eHzT7lmtlK

— FTC (@FTC) December 17, 2024

Chamber of Progress bizarrely claims that artists and indie venues who've been lobbying for ticketing fixes like recent laws in AZ, MN, and MD have been put up to it by Live Nation. In fact, we've been pushing for those new laws AND working to break up Live Nation. pic.twitter.com/wIXrutjOpM

— Future of Music Coalition (@future_of_music) December 18, 2024