Ticketmaster will finally just tell you how much tickets cost, nixing "junk fees"

The war may not quite be over, but fans have won one battle against Ticketmaster. Facing pressure from President Joe Biden, the federal government, and—worst of all—Swifties, both Ticketmaster and SeatGeek have committed to “all-in” pricing, meaning customers will see the full price up front rather than getting hit with a slew of hidden “junk fees” upon check out.

The news comes ahead of a planned meeting on Thursday with Biden and several private companies, including Ticketmaster parent company Live Nation, SeatGeek, xBk, Airbnb, the Pablo Center at the Confluence, TickPick, DICE, and the Newport Festivals Foundation (per CNN).

In a statement regarding the news, the White House said, “Today, Live Nation is committing to roll out an upfront all-in pricing experience in September showing just one clear, total price for more than 30 million fans who attend shows at the more than 200 Live Nation-owned venues and festivals across the country. Ticketmaster will also add a feature to give consumers the option to receive all-in upfront pricing for all other tickets sold on the platform.”

In February, Biden proposed legislation termed the Junk Fee Protection Act that targeted excessive fees across multiple industries. “Today’s voluntary actions demonstrate that companies both big and small recognize the importance of providing consumers with honest, up-front all-in pricing, rather than tricking them with surprise fees at the end of checkout,” the White House said in its statement. “It is also just a first step towards addressing junk fees in the economy. The President continues to call on Congress to pass legislation that mandates up-front all-in pricing for all ticket sellers, bans surprise ‘resort fees,’ eliminates early termination fees charged by cable, internet, and cellphone companies, and bans family seating fees.”

“Live Nation is proud to provide fans with a better ticketing buying experience,” said Tom See, president of Live Nation Venues, in his own statement. “We have thousands of crew working behind the scenes every day to help artists share their music live with fans, and we’ll continue advocating for innovations and reforms that protect that amazing connection.”

Of course, the all-in pricing model doesn’t eliminate fees altogether, it just makes things more transparent for the consumer. This move also doesn’t address many of the issues raised by Swifties and other concerned parties, the most notable criticism being that Live Nation has monopolized the ticketing industry. But a little bit of accountability is a start, right?