Ticketmaster Shows Full Prices Up Front as ‘Junk Fee’ Ban Begins

Big news for anyone who's ever screamed at their screen after clicking “Buy” and seeing the price jump with surprise fees: starting this week, the ticket-buying game is getting a serious makeover.

As a new Biden administration ban on “junk fees” kicked in Monday, Ticketmaster announced it will now show the full price of a ticket right when you start shopping. No more “$50 ticket” suddenly becoming $85 at checkout.

This change comes thanks to a new rule from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), announced back in December. It targets companies like ticket sellers, hotels, and vacation rental platforms, requiring them to come clean about processing fees, cleaning fees, and all those sneaky charges upfront.

Ticketmaster, which has caught heat for hidden fees for years, said Monday it actually supports the new rule.

"Ticketmaster has long advocated for all-in pricing to become the nationwide standard so fans can easily compare prices across all ticketing sites," Ticketmaster Chief Operating Officer Michael Wichser said in a statement, as reported by CBS News.

Along with showing total prices earlier, Ticketmaster is rolling out some bonus features to make the buying process smoother. For one, you’ll now see exactly where you are in line when you log in to buy tickets. And if the wait drags past 30 minutes, you'll get real-time updates on prices, ticket availability, and even if new dates have been added for the event.

Ticketmaster, owned by concert giant Live Nation in Beverly Hills, sells a jaw-dropping 500 million tickets a year across 30+ countries. In the U.S., about 70% of major concert venue tickets go through them. According to the company, these updates will finally bring North America up to speed with the rest of the world, where total ticket prices are shown right from the start.

But wait, there’s more. Ticketmaster also says it's going harder than ever against bots—those pesky programs that gobble up tickets before humans even get a chance. Remember the chaos in 2022 when fans tried to get Taylor Swift Eras Tour tickets and the site crashed? Bots were a big part of that mess.

Back then, Ticketmaster said its systems were overwhelmed by both real fans and automated attacks. People waited online for hours, only to end up empty-handed. Now, the company says it’s blocking more bots than ever.

"We now block an average of 200 million bot attempts every day, stopping them from stealing tickets meant for real fans," Ticketmaster said in a statement, as reported by CBS News. "In 2024 alone, we blocked over 53 billion bot attacks, a more than 5x increase from 2019."

Despite these improvements, Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation are still under major legal heat. The U.S. Department of Justice sued them last year, accusing the duo of being a monopoly that drives up ticket prices. The government wants the companies split up. That case is still playing out.

And it’s not just the Biden administration paying attention—former President Donald Trump is also stepping into the ticketing arena. In March, he signed an executive order aimed at stopping scalping and making live event pricing more transparent.

Under Trump’s order, the FTC has to make sure ticket prices are clear at every stage of the purchase and crack down on shady or anti-competitive practices.

"Anyone who's bought a concert ticket in the last decade, maybe 20 years — no matter what your politics are — knows that it's a conundrum," said Kid Rock, who joined Mr. Trump in the Oval Office as Mr. Trump signed the order.

So whether you're a Swiftie, a Kid Rock fan, or just want to see your favorite band without needing a calculator and a lucky rabbit’s foot, things might finally be getting a little fairer in ticketland.