President Joe Biden has vowed to crack down on the “hidden junk fees” music fans fork out for concert tickets.
The commander-in-chief has called out the “surprise charges that companies sneak into bills because they can.”
And he’s promised to “put that money back in” their pockets after announcing an initiative last month to tackle the rogue fees making concerts more expensive than they should be.
Biden tweeted this week: “I know hidden junk fees – like processing fees on concert tickets – are a pain.
“They’re unfair, deceptive, and add up. That’s why, last week, I called on my Administration to crack down on these fees and put that money back in your pocket.”
On October 26, Biden revealed he had spoken with the Competition Council on the matter.
Using similar wording as his tweet, he said that the “the unfair hidden fees known as ‘junk fees’ that are taking real money — real money out of your pockets — real money out of the pockets of American families.”
It’s long been an issue across the world, and another issue is touting and overpriced resales.
Last week, it was revealed that Adele tickets were on sale for a whopping £38,000.
The 34-year-old singer postponed her Las Vegas residency in January just 24 hours before the opening and claimed COVID-19 had rendered her show impossible to put on but is set to eventually take to the stage for the sold-out four-month run of ‘Weekends With Adele’ from November.
And the price of resale tickets on StubHub has reached almost £40,000 ($46,000), in what has been called the priciest residency to ever hit the Strip.
Brodie Cooper, of US PR firm PRrppd, told The Sunday People: “Websites would not charge those fees if people were not willing to pay those sums. Without a doubt, Adele’s ticket prices are by far the highest ever in the history of the Las Vegas strip.”
The price of the second-hand tickets marks a record for the ‘Someone Like You’ hitmaker, with the cost of them said to have eclipsed the likes of previous Las Vegas residencies headed up by the likes of fellow industry legends like Celine Dion and Britney Spears.
The cheapest price for a seat at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace is £579 ($672), which was the most expensive ticket when the tickets first went on sale through the official channels, while the back row seats were priced at £79 ($91).