Ticketmaster, the nation’s largest ticket seller, will begin disclosing fees after angry Taylor Swift fans demanded change and the Federal Trade Commission proposed new rules.

Ticketing companies including SeatGeek and

Live Nation Live Nation

owner of Ticketmaster, committed in a White House

round table round table

Thursday to

disclose

all fees at the beginning of the sales process, eliminating what President Biden and the FTC have described as “junk fees.”

Two parallel forces

probably probably

prompting Live Nation’s announcement, former FTC officials told The Times: a pending FTC rule that would regulate extra fees and a public campaign against Ticketmaster by an army of Swift fans struggling to get tickets to the singer’s US tour in 2023.

Ticket sellers may also be thinking of lawmakers in Washington, who are considering legislation to ban junk fees.

“Looking back on this, it could easily have been the Taylor Swift rule,” said William Kovacic, former chairman of the FTC. “Taylor Swift’s policy adjustment. Undeniable.”

In recent years, the FTC has waged a silent campaign against “junk fees,” or fees that the agency considers unfair and deceptive. Critics of Ticketmaster’s policy argue that surcharges added at the end of a sale qualify as both.

FTC officials last year

announced that she a

rule to regulate such fees. The committee has voted

3-1 3 against 1

Unpleasant

tell the audience that it was

considering policies that would address three types of fees: unnecessary charges for “worthless, free, or bogus products or services”; unavoidable costs imposed on “captive consumers”; and surprising costs that “secretly drive up the purchase price”.

Ticketmaster Fees

could be

fall into the third category.

The companies

probably probably

promised to stop the fees because the coalition opposed them

general

public,

who which

don’t want to pay fees; Congress, which is pursuing laws to ban the fees; and the FTC, which may issue a rule against them

was so formidable, former FTC officials explained.

“There is great concern that there is no clarity on pricing for these types of events,” said David Vladeck, who headed the FTC’s consumer protection division a decade ago. “A company like Live Nation doesn’t want the stigma of a company trying to mislead consumers.”

Taylor Swift fans gather in LA for Ticketmaster hearing: ‘We put everything on hold’

Congress has taken steps to regulate Ticketmaster and junk fees. Representative Ruben Gallego,

to a Democrat from Arizona running for the U.S. Senate in that state,

sponsors the Junk Fee Prevention Act, which would make the upfront pricing model legal.

“Today’s announcement that major companies are taking steps to increase price transparency is a major win for consumers,” Gallego wrote in a statement. “Reducing costs for working families is one of my top priorities. That’s why we’ve pushed Congress to pass my Junk Fee Prevention Act so all businesses can provide consumers with upfront pricing.”

Although Live Nation’s announcement is good news

for consumer advocates

legislators

want to

must ensure that the company

really keeps his promises,

sen

ator.

Richard Blumenthal (D Conn.)

from Connecticut

sponsoring the Senate companion to Gallego’s bill, The Times told

on

Thursday

morning

.

“Trust, but verify,” Blumenthal said. “I want to make sure they actually show the fees up front

.

…

i

It’s not just the fees

;

it is the exorbitant prices that can be charged with the complicity of Ticketmaster to fans who want to see these concerts.”

Now that it has publicly committed to cutting junk costs, Live Nation will have a hard time changing its stance, Vladeck noted. If the company does not keep this promise, he added:

it can expect to be attacked by

the FTC and government agencies

will attack them for it

.

And Live Nation didn’t make its statement quietly. By announcing the policy change from Washington, it has a chance to assuage public discontent, but risks further backlash if it continues to charge junk fees.

“They’ve thrown themselves into the noose and they hope nobody tightens it,” Vladeck said. “But once you make these kinds of claims publicly, you’re stuck with it.”

The White House said Live Nation will roll out its upfront pricing model in September. The company first inquired about making the announcement in Washington after Biden’s State of the Union address in February,

where he talked about cracking down on junk costs.

That was three months after the Taylor Swift ticket debacle.

“It’s all about Taylor Swift,” said a former FTC official who granted anonymity to speak candidly. “There’s a tremendous amount of pressure that comes out of… it pains me to say… the Taylor Swift fiasco. It sort of pushed that there’s a lot of consumer frustration with the purchasing process in certain markets.”

Those criticizing Ticketmaster don’t just point to the surprise fees. They also express concerns about market scrutiny, and in particular the partnership with Live Nation. Kovacic suspected the company’s commitment to showing fees won’t completely satisfy critics.

“I think there will be continued pressure on the Justice Department to revisit decisions they made earlier, when they approved the earlier merger in 2009, 2010,” he said. “I don’t think it lessens the pressure on the DOJ to re-engage with the antitrust issues. Not at all.”

Still, the White House considers Thursday’s development a major victory. In a fact sheet distributed to reporters, White House officials wrote that the companies’ commitments “will improve the purchasing experience for tens of millions of customers each year.”

The White House commends SeatGeek’s commitment to rolling out features in the coming months that allow ticket buyers to sort options by “all-in price.” the

y administration

figure

S

that since the president first called for a crackdown on junk fees last year, a handful of other companies have made similar commitments. For example, Airbnb has introduced a “total price” tool to see fees before taxes.

“Junk fees aren’t so much an issue for the rich as they are an issue for working people, like the houses I grew up in, and they can add hundreds of dollars a month and make it harder for families to pay their bills,” he said. Biden

at the round table round table thursday.

Senator Elizabeth Warren, a vocal critic for Ticketmaster, is also considering

Live Nation Live Nation’s

and SeatGeek’s pledges a consumer win.

“It’s another strike against junk fees,”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of the

Massachusetts

Democrat

said on the way to

up the Senate

Thursday morning. “To go

,

President Biden

!

”

“Grab them

!

she yelled from the elevator.

Taylor

Swift’s publicist did not respond to a request for comment

on

Thursday.