New Report Finds Aussies Are Frustrated With ‘Junk’ Concert Ticket Fees

TixSuite – a new subscription ticketing service launched in April by Eventfinda – has published its inaugural Ticketing Sentiment Report, chronicling the opinions of Australian concertgoers and their ticket-buying habits.

The survey was conducted by Pureprofile, with the final data drawn from responses submitted by 1,010 participants aged 18-64, from all around Australia. 81 percent of them said they’d headed along to at least one live event over the past year, with 44 percent saying they attend one to three events per year, and 25 percent saying they attend between four and 11.

Most of the tickets sold to those concerts were doled out by legacy ticket vendors like Ticketmaster and Ticketek – according to the report, 67 percent of Aussies relied on them for their access to gigs, while 20 percent would buy their tickets directly through event pages, and 11 percent went through the venue’s own websites.

The rising prices of concert tickets has not gone unnoticed by Australian punters – 79 percent of respondents agreed that tickets have become too expensive in recent times (while just three percent shot the sentiment down) – but people seem willing to wear the burden, with 35 percent spending more than $100 per ticket on average.

So what drives most punters’ ire towards ticket pricing? According to TixSuite’s findings, it’s the “junk” fees tacked on by the aforementioned platforms after the cost of the ticket itself – many of which are added to the price without clearly defined purposes. Only 40 percent of respondents said they understand why vendors like Ticketmaster and Ticketek charge additional fees in the checkout process – and those that don’t would appreciate more clarification, with 72 percent saying they’d be more accepting of the fees if vendors were more transparent with the reasons for them.

Furthermore, other common complaints shared by concertgoers include exorbitant waits in ticketing queues and waiting lounges, hidden costs and “delivery” fees being added on for e-tickets, official platforms being too fickle and crashing when tickets for high-demand gigs go on sale, and scalpers re-listing tickets that are fake and/or unfairly priced. All of these have led consumers to have less trust in the big players: just 21 percent of respondents agreed that ticketing providers have their best interests at heart.

Also, thanks in no short part to rising prices, many punters have adopted the habit of ignoring tickets when they first go on sale, and choosing to buy them closer to the dates of the gigs themselves. This has led to many tours and festivals being cancelled, with their demand seeming untenably low at face value.

Insofar as it pertains to festivals like Groovin The Moo and Splendour In The Grass (both of which had their 2024 editions cancelled), most respondents said their concerns had less to do with big international headliners and solid lineups, and more to do with ticket prices being too high; 78 percent of those surveyed said they’d be more likely to buy tickets early if they were cheaper and had less additional fees tacked on.

READ MORE: Why Governments Should – Or Shouldn’t – Fund More Music Festivals

In a press statement, Eventfinda TixSuite CEO James McGlinn said of the findings outlined in the Ticketing Sentiment Report: “It is clear that Aussies continue to value experiences very highly, with many continuing to spend money on attending live events even as the cost of living continues to rise. They also continue to attend events despite many having a range of grievances with the way ticketing is done in Australia, and unsurprisingly we’ve found that the majority would like more transparency from ticketing providers when it comes to the fees attached to most live event tickets. 

“This research confirms our thoughts that ticketing in Australia is broken and ripe for disruption, with trust in ticketing providers running low. Not only does the current model frustrate ticket purchasers, but also presents issues for promoters and venues running events. Not only are they forced to pass on per-ticket fees to ticket purchasers, but they also endure cashflow issues with ticketing providers holding cash from sales until after their event, which increases the risk events will be cancelled, so ticket buyers miss out.”