I love live music, and I’m lucky enough to live in an area where there are lots of great performances throughout the year. Unfortunately, one thing that more and more venues are subscribing to is the idea of tacking on “service fees” to their ticket prices. Maybe it’s just me, but this just feels dishonest.

If a ticket is advertised at $20 or even $120, I think it’s reasonable to expect that to be the final cost. Ok, maybe add on sales tax, but that isn’t exactly within the venue’s control. What they can control are these fixed “fees” that can increase the price of a ticket significantly. If the total cost is going to be $40, just say it’s a $40 ticket, don’t call it a $25 ticket and then say there is a $5 service fee and then you have to pre-pay toward a $10 minimum on food. It just feels scummy.

I’m not saying the final ticket cost is too high, but don’t use bait and switch tactics on me. It destroys my trust and is a quick way to lose me as a customer.

Is there a legitimate reason to keep the “service fees” separate from the ticket prices? I’m not talking about things like shipping, the mail isn’t free, so a cost to deliver a ticket is understandable, but I can’t find a good reason to have a fee that isn’t just included in the ticket price. Please, educate me.

15/90