Evelyn Barge
Assistant A&E Editor
Ticketmaster is the world’s leading ticketing company and the vendor most people patronize when they want to go to a concert, the theater or a sporting event.
While the company sold 100 million tickets last year alone, Ticketmaster has a reputation for tacking on extra fees that sometimes concerns budget-conscious students. Ticketmaster refers to these added costs as a “convenience charge,” but the expense isn’t convenient on the pocketbook.
When a customer purchases from Ticketmaster, there are a number of charges that go into calculating the overall ticket cost.
Tickets for upper level seating at the Norah Jones concert in Santa Barbara on Oct. 6 have a face value of $55. A building facility charge of $3 is added by the venue, the Santa Barbara Bowl. Ticketmaster applies a convenience charge of $8.25 as well as an order processing charge of $3.15. The customer also chooses a preferred delivery method. The price of delivery depends on the method selected and ranges from $2.50 to $25. If the cheapest delivery method is selected, the total charge for one ticket is $71.90.
The face value of the ticket is the cost determined by the venue, the promoter or the artist.
This price typically includes the customary city, state and local taxes.
“We have no say over the actual ticket price,” Ticketmaster spokesman Larry Solters said.
Because Ticketmaster does not make any financial gain from the face value of the ticket, other charges pay for all the costs associated with the ticket transaction as well as the convenience of purchasing tickets through a variety of methods such as online purchasing, charge-by-phone and ticket outlets located at major local retailers.
A facility charge may be applied depending on the venue. According to Ticketmaster.com, not all venues charge a facility charge and Ticketmaster does not determine these fees.
Order processing fees cover the cost of filling an order placed online or over the phone.
“This charge includes services like taking and maintaining your order on your ticketing systems, arranging for shipping and/or coordinating with the box office will call,” According to Ticketmaster.com.
The convenience charge allows Ticketmaster to provide the widest range of tickets and give consumers a variety of purchasing options. This charge varies from event to event.
“These service fees allow you to purchase tickets off site,” Solters said. “Let’s say you’re up at Pepperdine in Malibu and you want to see Rod Stewart play at the Hollywood Bowl. You could skip classes, drive all the way to Los Angeles, spend the gas money, and wait in line in the sun for three or four hours. Then you would avoid the service charges,” Solters said.
The alternative is to order tickets through Ticketmaster online or over the phone and pay the extra service fee.
“If you don’t want to pay the service fee, then don’t order through Ticketmaster,” Solters said.
In addition to the face value of the ticket, a facility charge, an order processing fee and a convenience charge, Ticketmaster customers also pay the cost of delivery.
Even though the cost of shipping is separate from the service fees, Solters compared them to a delivery service.
“If you bought something at Robinson’s-May, you could drive to the store and pick it up or you could have it delivered to you and pay for that delivery,” he said.
For some Pepperdine students, the benefits of Ticketmaster outweigh the costs.
“I’ve always bought tickets through Ticketmaster,” senior Jeff Wilcox said. “Even with the convenience charges it’s much better than waiting in line.
“I guess I really don’t buy that many concert tickets, but every single one I’ve bought has been through Ticketmaster,” Wilcox added.
Others prefer to purchase from a different ticket source.
“I would never buy through Ticketmaster, because I’d much rather drive to the box office and buy tickets wherever the event is being held,” junior Emily Montgomery said.
“A lot of Broadway shows and other major plays come to Las Vegas, my hometown. It’s pretty simple to just drive to the venue and buy tickets right there.”
For venues, the decision to sell tickets through Ticketmaster is often financially beneficial.
The Pepperdine Center for the Arts has been selling tickets for its events through Ticketmaster for almost a decade, managing director Marnie Mitze said.
The Center for the Arts signed up with Ticketmaster for several reasons.
“They offered us a really enticing contract with no software or hardware installation charges and a small per ticket fee,” Mitze said.
Ticketmaster also allowed the Center for the Arts to sell tickets over the phone, which isn’t available to everyone who sells through Ticketmaster, she said.
“It was primarily a financial benefit because it allows our patrons 24-hour access to our box office,” Mitze said. “Because we have limited box office hours here at Pepperdine, Ticketmaster offers equal access for all our patrons.”
The Center for the Arts also saw the substantial benefit of selling tickets online.
“More and more tickets are being sold online and working with Ticketmaster allows our patrons to purchase tickets through a sophisticated online system at any time of the day,” Mitze said.
Customers who order tickets over the phone or through mail order are charged only $8 per order.
“If you order two tickets, the charge is only really $4 per ticket,” Mitze said. “If you order eight tickets, it’s only $1 per ticket. It’s not a very big charge.”
There is also another purchasing option for customers who wish to avoid a service charge. Tickets purchased by walking up to the box office on campus are not subject to any extra fees.
While some venues choose to sell through Ticketmaster, others find that having their own distribution service is more advantageous.
A popular hangout for Pepperdine students, the Malibu Inn is one venue that sells tickets for concerts and events only through their own online box office and at the door.
“We don’t use Ticketmaster because we prefer to operate our own distribution service,” assistant general manager Alex Paul said. “Since we don’t charge any service fees like Ticketmaster, the overall ticket price is usually a lot lower.”
The in-house ticketing system is found on the Malibu Inn Web site, which is the primary ticket outlet. Customers who do not want to pay with a credit or debit card can pay admission at the door.
“Our goal is to provide quality entertainment without the corporate elements such as a ticket ‘service charge,’” Malibu Inn promotions manager Jesse Goodman said.
Since all venues do not offer their own online ticket distribution, it is up to the consumer to decide how they want to purchase tickets. This decision may mean the difference between getting tickets or not because tickets for major events are often hot commodities that sell out within minutes of going on sale.
Even through Ticketmaster the buyer may not be able to find tickets for a highly anticipated event, but the company assures that its customers have equal odds of getting tickets regardless of what distribution channel they choose. Whether the purchase will be made online, by phone or in person at a ticket outlet, there is no set amount of tickets for each channel so a level playing field exists for all customers.
“We try to offer the most efficient, expedient service,” Solters said. “All consumers are an important part of Ticketmaster sales.”
Those who wish to avoid convenience charges may still purchase tickets in person at the venue box office or find venues like the Malibu Inn that provide their own ticketing system.
Ticketmaster conducted $4.9 billion in ticket sales in 2003 and operates more than 3,300 retail ticket center outlets worldwide..
09-09-2004
