Love Those Hidden Fees On Concert Tickets? New York Is Banning Them!

I attended my very first concert in 1977 when my mom took me and my sister to see KISS at Madison Square Garden. The total ticket cost for the 3 of us was $22.50 plus tax. That's $7.50 each with no added fees! After a quick search for KISS tickets on their current tour, the cheapest ticket I found was $102.70. Once all the fees, hidden or otherwise, were added in those 2 tickets cost around $300! That's nearly $100 in tax, fees and services!

New York State is doing something about unfair tickets practices on concert tickets.

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According to the New York Post, Governor Hochul signed a bill this week that will make it more difficult for vendors to apply hidden charges for concerts and sporting events. This could also alleviate getting shut out by bots used by ticket scalpers.

Live entertainment has long been a critical sector in our economy, and as consumers and the industry recover from the pandemic, it is important that we make the ticket-buying experience easier and more transparent," Governor Hochul said. "This bill will expand penalties for malicious ticketing practices that have made live events inaccessible to New Yorkers for too long. Today, we are taking an important step towards ensuring that every New Yorker has a fair opportunity to enjoy the unique arts and cultural experiences that our state has to offer.

This bill is essentially New York's existing "Ticketing Law" with some amendments. For example, civil fines have increased for ticket purchasing software. When these bots are used to net a large amount of tickets to markup and resell, the fine is now bigger than ever. These sellers and resellers need to disclose the total cost of a ticket clearly. Delivery fees on tickets printed at home are now banned as well.

New Yorkers love attending concerts but we don't like surprises, like hidden fees. We also want a fair shot at getting good seats to a show. Hopefully these amendments will be the next steps to a better experience.