Legislation

NITO calls on US Federal Trade Commission to expand junk fee protections

Featured Image: shbs from Pixabay

The National Independent Talent Organisation (NITO) in the US has called on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to expand the recent ruling concerning ‘junk fees’ on concert tickets.

In December, the FTC passed a rule requiring ticket sellers across the country to disclose total prices in a crackdown on junk fees.

The rule is scheduled to come into effect in mid-April, and will prohibit hiding fees from consumers until the final step in the check-out process. This means that the total price will be listed up front, effectively making all-in pricing of concert tickets the national standard.

However, NITO feels that the FTC’s junk fee ruling does not address, or reduce, the junk fees that are “now buried inside each concert ticket”.

In a request to the FTC, NITO said: “The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recent ruling aims to improve the ticket-buying process for fans and now requires ticket sellers to list the checkout price up front in the purchase process. This should help fans compare prices between primary and secondary ticket sellers and we applaud the FTC for this action.

“The FTC’s junk fee ruling however does nothing to address or reduce actual junk fees that are now buried inside each concert ticket. Transparency that shows the price gap between the amount that an artist wants to charge and the amount the fan pays has been lost with this ruling.”

NITO executive director Nathaniel Marro added in a statement: “The new FTC rule is a positive step forward in setting a national standard for event tickets. No longer will some fans abandon their tickets at check out when the price balloons past their budget.

“But it does nothing to reduce the junk fees buried inside each concert ticket. Transparency that shows the price gap between the amount that an artist wants to charge and the amount the fan pays has been lost with this ruling. As an industry we must still work to keep fees in check to ensure basic entertainment does not become a luxury good.”

NITO also said that it would continue to work with industry stakeholders to limit the costs passed onto consumers.