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The National Independent Talent Organization (NITO) has unveiled its in-depth report on New York State ticket fees.
READ NITO’S FULL NEW YORK STATE TICKET FEES REPORT:
https://nitolive.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/NITO-NY-Ticket-Fees-Report-.pdf
New York’s live event ticketing system is facing a growing affordability crisis driven by excessive and inconsistent ticket fees.
NITO’s study finds that the average primary ticket fees in New York State have now risen to 28.65% – an increase of more than 36% in less than a decade. The current average price of a fee on an average $69.70 face value ticket is $17.51, representing an increase of over 36% from a 2016 report from the New York State Attorney General’s office. Primary market tickets priced at $40 or less carried a higher average fee of 35.5%.
Overall, ticket fees – which artists can not control and do not profit from – were shown to exceed more than 50% of the primary ticket’s face value in almost 10% of the data, with multiple cases of ticket fees costing more than 100% of the original face value. For two shows at local amphitheaters, more than $200K in primary market ticket fees were collected. The current New York state law allows for a “reasonable” fee to be charged in connection with mandatory ticket fees for the delivery of a ticket with no definition of what is “reasonable”.
Ticketmaster and AXS fees were nearly double all other services, averaging 34.73%, where all other service providers averaged 18.71%.In fact, nearly every instance where fees exceeded 40% of face value occurred on Ticketmaster, TicketWeb, or AXS platforms. NITO’s report found independent New York State venues – i.e., those unaffiliated with corporate operators – generally had lower fees. Ticket fees for secondary sellers, SeatGeek, StubHub and Vivid Seats, were the highest overall, averaging 38.95%, over 10% higher than the primary market average.
New York’s ticketing fee crisis represents a systemic distortion of value, artificially inflating the cost of live entertainment and undermining the trust between artists and their audiences. In many cases, they appear to violate New York law, which prohibits “service charges in excess of the actual cost” of delivering a ticket.
NITO’s new report shines a light on the escalating ticket fee crisis and offers a call to action. To fix what’s broken, NITO supports fostering an open and solutions-oriented dialogue among all stakeholders: artists, agents, venues, promoters, and ticketing companies. While some fees may be exploitative, many were created out of necessity to support the real costs of producing live shows, especially for independent venues and promoters without the diversified revenue streams of major corporations.
“a systemic distortion of value, artificially inflating the cost of live entertainment and undermining the trust between artists and their audiences”
The New York State legislature has the power to act by passing legislation to cap both primary and secondary market ticket fees at 15%. But real and lasting change will require more than legislation alone. NITO believes the path forward must include not only fee caps and stronger regulations, but also a willingness from the industry – artists, agents, promoters, venues, and ticketing companies – to come together and create a more transparent, fair, and sustainable system. Only collaborative efforts can deliver better outcomes for fans, preserve the viability of live events, and rebuild public trust in the ticketing process. Meaningful changes may take time to reach consensus and implement but New Yorkers deserve fair prices and the industry deserves a system that works for everyone – not just the biggest players.
“The system we have in place is not sustainable,” says NITO Executive Director Nathaniel Marro. “When the artist sets a $30 ticket price but it costs the fan $50 to get through the door, something isn’t working. With this NITO report, we want to expose the true cost of these fees and bring everyone together to find a solution that works for artists and fans.”
"What NITO’s report makes clear is that the current ticketing system for live events simply is not working for fans,” says New York State Senator James Skoufis, Chairman of the Committee on Investigations and Government Operations, (D) 42nd Senate District. “Buying a ticket 100% over face value, or paying a fee larger than the cost of the ticket itself, just isn’t possible for the average New Yorker. I will keep pushing as hard as possible for major ticketing reform – the New York State Legislature has to decide once and for all whose side they’re on: industry that’s desperately looking to protect the status quo or the millions of working- and middle-class fans who are locked out of live entertainment."
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ABOUT THE NATIONAL INDEPENDENT TALENT ORGANIZATION (NITO)
The National Independent Talent Organization (NITO) is a 501(c)(6) trade organization representing hundreds of independent talent agencies and managers nationwide. NITO members represent over 5,000 touring artists performing nationally and internationally. NITO provides exclusive resources and benefits while cultivating a community with the free exchange of ideas and best practices for our members. The organization’s work advances a fairer and more equitable live and recorded music environment, ensuring that NITO is a leading voice in the decisions affecting our industry. For more, please visit NITOLIVE.ORG.
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