Ticketmaster and Live Nation could face class action from music fans over ‘dynamic’ ticket pricing

A law firm is investigating whether to launch a class action against multinational Live Nation and its ticketing arm Ticketmaster on behalf of Australian music fans.

It follows revelations by Four Corners that the live entertainment company, along with its competitor Ticketek, charges fans hidden fees for concert tickets.

Live Nation also uses a practice called “dynamic pricing”, a process where a ticket price goes up as it gets more popular.

Gordon Legal partner James Naughton said his firm had been contacted by a number of people with concerns about Live Nation’s “dynamic pricing model and their ticketing model”.

“People feel like they don’t get … any idea about what the price of the tickets are until they go into a queue, which can take a significant amount of time to wait in. And then they’re given a very short period of time to decide whether to purchase the ticket or not,” Mr Naughton said.

He said his firm was examining whether Live Nation and Ticketmaster had engaged in “deceptive, misleading or unconscionable conduct”, and whether any consumer protection laws had been breached.

“What we’re mostly concerned about is circumstances where people feel under pressure to buy tickets,” he said.

Live Nation declined to comment when asked about Gordon Legal’s plans.

The multinational company, which made record revenue of almost $US23 billion ($31.14 billion) last year, has committed to expanding dynamic pricing.

In Australia, the model has been used for Green Day tickets, the Australian Open, and the Grand Prix.

“Ticketmaster does not set prices, nor do we have or offer algorithmic surge pricing technologies,” Live Nation said in a statement responding to earlier questions about the practice.

“Ticketing companies do not control how artist teams and other event organisers price their shows or whether they adjust prices up or down based on demand.

“We have tools to help artist teams understand demand for their tickets.”

The United Kingdom’s competition watchdog is investigating dynamic pricing. However, Federal Arts Minister Tony Burke said Australian consumers were used to it.

“I think we have to be realistic. It’s always been there,” he said. “It’s not something we’re looking at, at the moment.”

In its investigation of Live Nation’s activities in Australia, Four Corners found that concertgoers faced a raft of hidden fees, some of which they were unaware of. For a ticket over $65 at the Palais Theatre in Melbourne, for example, music fans can be charged up to $30 to $40 in fees.

Live Nation told the program that “tickets are actually priced by artists and teams”.

“Ticketmaster complies fully with Australian Consumer Law by incorporating per ticket or percentage fees into the price of the ticket paid by fans, and prominently disclosing any optional or transaction level fees,” Live Nation said in a statement.

“These fees support essential services, including tech development and innovation, customer service, security and compliance, all of which require significant investment.”

Live Nation added that Ticketmaster does not set fees, and they are decided by venues to “cover costs for both the venue and the ticketing company”.

Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett told Four Corners that musicians do not receive the full amount reflected in the ticket price.

“The artist does set a range of ticket price to where it is, the artist doesn’t set the booking fee, doesn’t set any other hidden fees that exist within that ticket price, of which there are plenty of examples,” he said.

Watch Four Corners’ investigation, Music for Sale, tonight from 8:30pm on ABC TV and ABC iview.