‘Bewildering’ fees make up 25 per cent of UK gig ticket prices, new report claims

“Bewildering” and “sneaky” additional fees make up 25 per cent of UK gig ticket prices, a new report from consumer body Which? has revealed.

The new data looks at fees charged by leading ticket agencies: Ticketmaster, See Tickets, AXS, Eventim and DICE.

The report looked at specific gigs from Anne-Marie and Busted, which showed added fees on top of face value prices of up to 25 per cent later on in the ticket buying process. Which?’s director of policy and advocacy, Rocio Concha, hit out at this lack of transparency, describing it as “sneaky drip pricing tactics”.

In response to the report, Ticketmaster said: “Fees are typically set by and shared with our clients … who all invest their skill, resource and capital into getting an event off the ground. Ticketmaster supports legislation that requires all-in pricing across the industry.”

Eventim added that “all mandatory fees are mentioned on page one of the booking process, and nothing is added that the customer wasn’t made aware of from the start,” while DICE said: “Fans see the full price upfront, and there are no nasty surprises at the end.”

The new report comes after the Labour Party recently laid out new proposals to cap ticket prices for gigs and toughen restrictions against touts.

In a speech last week at the Labour Creatives Conference, leader Sir Keir Starmer said that if his party were to win this year’s General Election, he would bring in new legislation tackling inflated prices for live music events.

Starmer said: “Access to music, art and theatre for hard working Brits can’t be at the mercy of ruthless ticket touts driving up prices.

“Hours spent refreshing ticket resale websites only to pay through the nose to see an artist you love, is frustrating and unfair.

He added: “Labour will cap resale prices and ban ticket hoarding. Culture should be for fans, not excessive profits.”