ADULT Tickets:

US $20.00 x 1

Total Convenience Charge:

US $9.70 x 1

Total Building Facility Charge(s):

US $2.50 x 1

Order Processing Charge:

US $3.80

TicketFast®:

US $2.50

TOTAL CHARGES US: $38.50

Does this look familiar?  It can probably be recognized by anyone who has bought tickets to concerts, speakers, or sporting events in the last ten years.

A visit to Ticketmaster.com has become a mandatory step when going to a live event, always the same web site, always the same fees.    

The purchase recite above demonstrates the excessive charges that come with ticket prices. The extra fee of $18.50 is not uncommon, as Ticketmaster charges, on average, an additional 30 percent of the original ticket price. Ironically, the organization was created to add consumer convenience to the ticket buying experience.

Most consumers complain that this wallet buster does just the opposite.

So why not just skip Ticketmaster and buy tickets elsewhere? That elsewhere usually doesn’t exist. 

Like that large smelly man sitting between you and your girlfriend on your 14 hour flight, this middle man can not easily be overlooked. 

Ticketmaster has almost 10,000 exclusive agreements with venues across North America including 90 percent of U.S. amphitheaters and arenas, 70 percent of our clubs and small theaters, and a majority of professional sports games.

This dominance over the industry and elimination of consumer choices makes Ticketmaster a monopoly … right?  No, not really, according government officials. 

A lawsuit was brought upon Ticketmaster by 90’s rock band Pearl Jam on this very issue.  The grunge band’s grudge against the site spawned from their fan complaints about paying excessive fees.  Pearl Jam sued the site claiming they were a monopoly with anti-competitive practices. They were infuriated by an incident where Ticketmaster stopped the band from selling their concert tickets directly to fans; Ticketmaster claimed they had exclusive right to the venue. 

The judge deemed Ticketmaster was not a monopoly. Their primary customers were not the customers paying the fees, but the venues who actively support Ticketmaster. 

So why would any venue, bar or arena want to exclusively sell their tickets through an unpopular middle man who charges extra fees? Well… money of course! 

Ticketmaster’s large reach allows them to guarantee each venue the eternity of each ticket price. The other fees, such as a service fee, a convenience charge, go to Ticketmaster. 

Everybody wins, except you, the ticket buyer who is stuck with the bulk of the load. 

In the music industry, CD sales are at record lows due to the ease of free music sharing. 

Profits from concerts are now the majority of most artist’s income and they are dropping due to unnecessarily expensive ticket prices. 

The expression “Living like a rock star” may soon come to infer a life of poverty, as the company designed exclusively to make live events easier, makes them more and more difficult.