President Joe Biden reiterated during his State of the Union speech Tuesday night that the U.S. government should do something about the mismanagement and sky-high fees charged by concert promoters like Ticketmaster.
The remarks came as part of a larger portion of the speech addressing the ways Americans are nickeled and dimed by major companies, during which Biden declared, “Americans are tired of being played for suckers.”
“We can stop service fees on tickets to concerts and sporting events and make companies disclose all fees up front,” Biden said during his congressional address on Tuesday.
Biden’s comments could also signal his willingness to get the US justice Department involved in taking anti-trust action against the Live Nation/Ticketmaster conglomerate.
Alongside concert fees, Biden also called out other expenses incurred by Americans as consumers.
“The idea that cable internet and cellphone companies can charge you $200 or more if you decide to switch to another provider — give me a break,” Biden said.
Biden’s comment follow a recent Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, called after reports that service failures and significant delays on Ticketmaster’s website prevented fans from purchasing Taylor Swift concert tickets in November.
A flood of fans — and bots — crashed Ticketmaster’s website in a Nov. 15 pre-sale for the pop star’s upcoming Eras Tour, leading the company to cancel public sales.
As complaints have mounted against Ticketmaster in the wake of its merger with Live Nation Entertianment, the company has invested nearly $6 million dollars in lobbing Congress.
