Ticketek and Ticketmaster have collected Choice’s Shonky Awards, a dubious honor handed out to those businesses deemed to offer some of the nation’s worst products and services.
The ticketing giants were responsible for “fleecing fans,” remarks Choice CEO Monique Perry, as the consumer advocacy group on Wednesday (Nov. 4) announced its 2026 Shonkys.
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The ticketing companies were fingered for “gouging consumers during a cost-of-living crisis,” reads a statement issued by Choice. “Both companies have used a number of sneaky tactics, like dynamic pricing or ‘in demand’ tickets, to push ticket prices for live events to ridiculous new heights.”
Time and time again, Perry continues, the ticketing companies have used “sneaky tactics such as dynamic pricing or higher-cost ‘in demand’ tickets, concealing ticket prices ahead of sale and strict time limits to take advantage of fans desperately wanting to secure a spot. We think that’s pretty shonky.”
In one example provided by the not-for-profit organization, John Farnham fans who logged on to Ticketek to secure tickets to a tribute concert were faced with inflated prices of up to A$1,650 ($1,153).
Reps for Ticketmaster and Ticketek have responded.
“Ticketmaster is committed to giving fans a safe, secure and transparent way to buy tickets to thousands of events each year. We continually invest in technology to protect fans, improve the ticket-buying experience, and make ticketing more transparent across our platform,” reads a statement issued to Billboard from the ticketing giant, part of Live Nation. Ticket prices are set by event organizers, not Ticketmaster, the message continues. “We do not use surge pricing or algorithms that automatically increase prices in response to real-time demand.”
And for “in demand tickets,” event organizers set the prices of hot tickets “closer to market value and may review these over the sales period. These prices do not automatically increase because more fans join a queue,” the Ticketmaster statement reads.
“We’re committed to helping fans understand how ticketing works and providing clear information about ticket pricing and their options.”
A spokesperson for Ticketek, part of the TEG, disputed the claims concerning the John Farnham tribute, noting the premium ticket, Ultimate, priced at A$1,650, was not affected by dynamic pricing. “Ultimate is a ring-fenced premium ticket and the pricing did not change for this category for this event,” reads a statement from Ticketek. “Ultimate tickets made up less than one per cent of the tickets available for the event.”
Where variable pricing was used for the event, billed as The Songs of John Farnham: A Living Legend – The Celebration Concert, fewer than 7% of tickets were affected, which meant that for most ticket categories, prices didn’t budge, according to reps. Where they did, around 3.7 per cent of tickets were in categories where the price increased, while 3.3% were in categories where the price decreased, while upwards of 92% of tickets were sold at their original, unchanged fixed price.
Ticketek reiterated that ticket prices are set by the artist, promoter or event organizer, and variable pricing is only used when they choose to — in which case, consumers are notified about potential price changes before they enter the on-sale. “The vast majority of tickets sold through Ticketek are checked out at a price set before the on-sale opens,” reads the statement.
Choice keeps close tabs on the ticketing industry. The group has campaigned for a cleaner, clearer secondary ticketing market and, as part of that crusade, bestowed a “Shonky” to Viagogo in 2017, citing “dodgy practices that tick off consumers.”
An independent, nonprofit member organization since 1959, Choice put a string of businesses and industries on blast this year, including Virgin Australia, Hisense, Petcover, Quest Protein Chips and Sony Interactive Entertainment.
The Shonkys are now in their 21st year. Read more here.
