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When tickets go on sale tomorrow for the April 4 Guster concert at WorkPlay, fans of the popular band will find the online buying experience a bit different. That’s because WorkPlay, Guster, and TicketBiscuit have collaborated to present an “All In Price”. So, when the ads say advance tickets are $25, fans will truly pay only $25 per ticket. The price will be the same whether the fans buy online, over the phone, or in person, and there will be no added fees at checkout.
Why is this significant? The standard industry practice with live entertainment ticketing is to advertise one price, but when ticket buyers go online to purchase, several fees are heaped on to the total. For example, across town from WorkPlay at the larger arena in Birmingham, tickets to a popular upcoming country show are advertised at $27, but after ticketing fees, delivery fees, and order processing fees are added these tickets actually end up costing the buyer almost $20 more per ticket. Fans have long complained that ticketing fees are exorbitant and unnecessary.
The concept of an “All In Price” is not entirely new. Live Nation / Ticketmaster experimented with convenience fee- free tickets during the summer of 2010, but fans complained that the fees were dropped for only the least expensive lawn seats. Ticketmaster announced on a company blog in August 2010 that it would present fees earlier in the purchase process, yet the fees presented don’t include add-ons like ticket delivery and order processing charges.
By contrast, all of the advance tickets for the April 4 Guster show are the “All In Price” of $25, with no added fees or charges at checkout. Prices will be $27 on the day of the show.
“The collaboration of a ticketing company, a venue, and an artist to arrive at a fair price represents a new way of making live entertainment a more pleasurable experience for the fans,” TicketBiscuit CEO Jeff Gale said. Todd Coder, who recently joined TicketBiscuit as the Director of Business Development, added “The process was pretty easy, it just required clear and open communication among all parties, and a bit of willingness to deviate from the way things have always been done. A lot of credit goes to WorkPlay and Guster for helping us make this happen.“
TicketBiscuit plans to use the positive experience with Workplay to make the All In Price more common in live entertainment. We’ve recently launched a website, www.allinprice.org , to share our approach and insights with other venues, artists, and ticketing companies hoping to further the practice. “The fans demand an All In Price for tickets, and if we can give it to them, they will buy more tickets.” Gale said.
Tickets for Guster go on sale at 10 am Wednesday, January 19, at the All-In-Price of $25. They can be purchased at www.workplay.com or over the phone at 205.879.4773.
