Ticketmaster says refunds for postponed concerts up to promoter, not them

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On March 12 – the day a task force led by two of the world’s biggest concert promoters recommended calling off all large-scale events through the end of the month – Ticketmaster quietly tweaked its refund policy.

Where previously ticket buyers were informed that refunds were available for events that had been "postponed, rescheduled or cancelled,” the scope of the updated policy statement (explained on Ticketmaster’s website) was narrowed to apply to cancelled events only. Reimbursement for postponed or rescheduled shows is now at the discretion of event organizers (i.e. promoters), not Ticketmaster, the industry-leading ticket sales and distribution company. It should be pointed out that Ticketmaster is owned by Live Nation Entertainment, one of the largest music promoters in the world.

That’s a big deal. To date, more than 30,000 Ticketmaster-handled events in North America have been affected by COVID-19, and the overwhelming majority have been postponed, not cancelled outright. That leaves ticketholders in limbo and out of pocket.

Ticketmaster has long been the music fan’s preferred whipping boy. Last summer, Ticketmaster was fined $4.5 million by the Canadian Competition Bureau after an investigation into “misleading pricing claims in online ticket sales.”

The social media backlash against the new refund policy has been harsh. “When this is all over I hope Ticketmaster no longer exists,” tweeted Raina Douris, the former CBC Music personality and current host of National Public Radio’s World Cafe.

California Congresswoman Katie Porter also slammed the company, which is based in her state. “I applaud Ticketmaster for continuing to shine in what is apparently a competition to provide the worst customer service in any industry,” the first-term Democrat tweeted. “Exorbitant ticket fees for negligible benefits – now taking advantage of a crisis to line their pockets?"

In a statement provided to The Globe and Mail, Ticketmaster addressed the public furor: “We serve as the sales platform for the event organizers worldwide. Our standard practice is that clients using our platform hold the cash from their ticket sales and retain the ability to set individual policies for their postponed or rescheduled events.”

In other words, Ticketmaster sells the tickets and then turns over that cash (minus its service charges) to event organizers.

This is where things get tricky. Ticketmaster’s biggest “client” is Live Nation, which is owned by the same parent company. Through March 31, some 8,000 of the promoter’s shows, with 15,000 tickets sold, were affected by the coronavirus-related event stoppage. Of those, 7,000 shows were postponed, accounting for 90 per cent of affected tickets. The remaining 10 per cent of tickets were for events that were cancelled outright.

Refunds have been issued for all those shows, according to Live Nation, and the company expects to allow “some refunds for postponed shows in the U.S. and select international markets as new event dates are set.” Asked about reimbursements for rescheduled Canadian events, Toronto-based Live Nation Canada did not respond to a request for comment.

If Ticketmaster isn’t holding the cash from seats to recently postponed shows, promoters such as Live Nation don’t have it all, either. In addition to the promoter’s take, money from ticket sales is disbursed to cover taxes, licensing costs, booking fees, venue deposits and artist advances.

“Once that money goes down the pipeline, it’s hard to get it flowing back up the other way," says University of Toronto professor Catherine Moore, an expert on the music business.

Whether concertgoers’ cheques are in the mail and who’s to blame if they’re not, all this bad publicity shakes consumer confidence and generates ill will. It’s just one more blow to a global live music industry already devastated by the current pandemic.

Live Nation CEO and president Michael Rapino recently announced he would give up his $3-million annual salary as part of measures aimed at cutting costs by $500-million this year.

Though Rapino said Live Nation “will be ready to ramp back up quickly" when the COVID-19 shutdown ends, we shouldn’t expect to hear “Thank you, Winnipeg” from rock stars any time soon. Large-scale gatherings won’t be safe to attend until “fall 2021 at the earliest,” according to Zeke Emanuel, director of the Healthcare Transformation Institute at the University of Pennsylvania, who was part of a panel assembled by the New York Times on life after the pandemic.

Eventually, the concert business will come back. But will audiences?

“Some of these people have lost their jobs. They need money badly,” says Marie-France Remillard, a die-hard music fan and former music journalist who monitors online classic-rock fan forums. “They’re wondering if it’s worth it to spend $500 for a concert. And older fans are worried about stepping into stadiums and arenas with so many people after all this.”

The now retired Montrealer regularly trots around the globe to attend concerts. Remillard doesn’t plan to let refund policies and post-pandemic trepidation stop her from seeing the Eagles’ Hotel California tour at the Forum in Los Angeles or the Who at Royal Albert Hall (if and when those shows happen). She did, however, request and receive a refund worth $711.36 for a pair of tickets to a postponed Rolling Stones concert in Nashville promoted by AEG Presents/Concerts West.

Remillard worries some bands will no longer be in touring shape when curtains are allowed to rise again. “Charlie Watts will be 79 in June," she says. “I don’t think older acts like the Rolling Stones will be coming back. Or Roger Waters – he’s 76 years old."

Anyone who bought tickets to the Waters concert at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena received an email notice from Ticketmaster directing them to a web page that explained a new date for the show would be announced soon. “Please hold onto your tickets as they will be valid for the new date,” it advised.

There’s no mention of refunds, though the venue’s strict policy against large purses, parcels and briefcases is spelled out out in detail. Once again, the concertgoer is left holding the bag.

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