Finally, a Ticket Fee Transparency Law Goes Into Effect in New York

Picture this: your favorite band has just announced a tour, perhaps their first since the start of COVID. You sign up for the Ticketmaster presale, maybe through Amex. When the time comes, you’re lucky enough to score decent tickets, for an equally decent price — you’re stoked. That is, until you get to checkout, where you’re slapped with a bundle of service fees that amount to half the price of the tickets themselves and for what it’s not even abundantly clear. But for the sake of being able to see your favorite band play live again, you swallow your reservations and bite the metaphorical bullet. Alternatively, you decide the fees are too much and you don’t.

This is, of course, a hypothetical situation — though, one you can surely relate to on some level if you’ve purchased tickets to an event of any kind, over the course of the past several years. Luckily, new legislation in New York seeks to change that.

Per a new report from Skift, the state’s new transparent ticketing legislation — which was signed by Governor Kathy Hochul on June 30, and goes into effect on August 29 — will do exactly as it purports. Most importantly, it will prohibit sellers from tacking on any additional, “last-minute” fees.

“It’s a concept called ‘drip pricing,’ where myriad administrative or service charges are added at the checkout. Now, such charges must be displayed upfront in the process so the actual price doesn’t change throughout the transaction,” Allan Lynch wrote.

Arguably the best news is that delivery fees for electronic tickets and tickets printed at home will cease to be (what the fuck was that about anyway?) and that all charges and fees must be displayed upfront. Further, resellers must also now disclose the original ticket price. It applies to all live performances and events within New York state, and will be extended to out-of-state buyers as well.

“The reforms cover ticket-buying for events that take place in New York State. Fee transparency information and ‘all-in’ pricing are specifically targeted for the ticket-buying process, not the final in-hand ticket. ‘Delivery charges’ applied to digital tickets are now outlawed,” said Senator James Skoufis’, a key player in drafting the legislation, communications director Emma Fuentes.

“While there are no percentage caps on additional fees charged for a given ticket, knowledge is power for the consumer, and this legislation gives buyers the information they need to be properly informed,” Fuentes added.

It’s legislation that is specific to New York for now, and it remains to be seen whether or not other states will follow suit. In the interim, however, New Yorkers rejoice. You can now — get this — print your tickets from home…for free!