Why does transparency matter for concert ticketing?

Live entertainment brings people together in a way that few other experiences can match. The dimming lights, the hush of the crowd, and the ecstatic moment when your favorite artist takes the stage. Suddenly, you’re screaming lyrics and forging instant bonds with the strangers surrounding you. Concerts create these euphoric moments that keep fans coming back for more. But why is buying the ticket so complicated?

Between the fees, pressure-inducing countdowns, and tickets that seem to get snatched up in a split-second, it can seem as though ticketing platforms are purposefully making it difficult to get to a show. And that's because they are.

To understand why most ticketing platforms do this, it’s helpful to understand the basic tenet of behavioral economics: people don’t always make rational decisions. Ticketing platforms exploit this irrationality. How? They advertise low prices, but add hefty fees when consumers are about to buy; at this point, consumers may feel that the ticket is already theirs, and are reluctant to walk away. The platforms also use countdown clocks to create a sense of urgency – and emphasize scarcity – that pushes concertgoers into spending more money than they originally intended. These are profit-driven strategies that can leave people so frustrated that they place disproportionate pressure on the concert to compensate for the negative experience.

This opaque approach to fees fees has even caught the attention of President Biden, whose administration recently announced new efforts to crack down on companies charging “junk fees,” which the White House argues “make it hard for honest businesses to compete, stifle innovation, and hurt small businesses.”

But there’s one ticketing platform that has built its business on transparency from the start: DICE. According to CEO Phil Hutcheon, “We believe that the price you see upfront should be what you pay at the end.” DICE was created by music lovers who were sick of navigating complicated platforms and paying unexpected fees. That’s why DICE always shows the full price upfront, features a simple three-tap-purchasing process, and lets you join a waiting list to buy a ticket from another fan at face value for sold out shows.

In a world where junk fees had become the norm, some wondered if fans had just grown accustomed to it. But as it turns out, not only was DICE’s easy ticketing process a relief for concertgoers, its success has shown that transparency can be good for business too. “People really like it and they keep coming back,” says Hucheon, “And hopefully through this behavior, we can get everyone to be much more transparent.” This video "Why does transparency matter for concert ticketing? ", first appeared on http://thrillist.com.