In May of 2024, Ticketmaster was sued for scamming fans over hidden fees and unfair prices. These hidden fees and prices make concerts and events more expensive than advertised. Many fans have felt deceived and are asking for a clearer transparency when buying tickets.  

Ticketmaster is a company that allows users to buy however many tickets they please for any kind of event. Ticketmaster has presale for certain concerts and events, where anyone interested in purchasing tickets can sign up for and wait for the day tickets come out. During presale, many fans wait for their chance to purchase tickets at the specific time tickets go on sale. However, those who buy tickets are allowed to do a resale on their ticket and sell it for however much they please for a profit. 

“Ticketmaster claimed Ross Lynch tickets were $69, but I paid $20 for fees per ticket. I bought four tickets that ended up being $88 each which in total cost me $352.” stated Luke Fierro, a senior at JCHS. 

As Ticketmaster and other event apps have evolved, scammers have gotten the chance to take advantage by buying tickets and reselling them at high prices to fans who missed out on presale. Not only do these scammers up the price on tickets, but Ticketmaster is known to have hidden fees which become known to the consumer once in checkout. Ticketmaster also tends to have a high demand of buyers during presale, so if fans don’t act fast then they risk not getting tickets.

“Fans of Bruce Springsteen were also in an uproar when tickets first went on sale for his tour… which sent tickets soaring to $5,000 or more when there was high demand… Ticketmaster said at the time that the vast majority of Springsteen’s fans were able to buy tickets at face value, which averaged $202,” said The Associated Press. 

Ticketmaster has sold around 600 million tickets a year to events all around the world, as stated in the New York Times by David McCabe and Ben Sisario (NYTIMES)

Along with these hidden fees Ticketmaster and other event apps are also known to lie to many individuals interested in wanting to attend a concert or event. Ticketmaster is known to say that an event or concert is completely sold out with no more tickets available. However, the day of the event, fans at these events post pictures of all the empty seats available. 

I recently attended a Conan Grey concert on September 30th and witnessed the misleading claims made by Ticketmaster and other event apps. The concert took place at Madison Square Garden in New York City, where it was said that the show was completely sold out. However, as the show started I had noticed a large section of empty seats in the crowd.

Photo courtesy of Natalie Reyes