Our Commitment to Your Compliance
At Brushfire, our heart has always been to ensure our customers remain compliant with industry regulations. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has finalized a rule banning hidden "junk fees" for live event tickets, which will take effect on May 12, 2025. We're committed to making the necessary changes to our platform to ensure your complete compliance with this new regulation.
Understanding the FTC Junk Fee Ban
While our blog explains the ban in more detail, the FTC's new rule requires ticket sellers to display the total “all-in” price, including all mandatory fees, upfront and prominently in advertisements and at the point of sale. This change aims to eliminate "drip pricing" - where additional fees are gradually revealed during the purchasing process, creating a more transparent experience for consumers. This change promotes pricing transparency and helps attendees make more informed decisions when purchasing tickets.
How Brushfire Is Adapting to Support Your Compliance
To ensure all our customers meet these requirements seamlessly while using our platform, we're implementing the following changes:
1. All-Inclusive Ticket Pricing Display
Starting May 6th, all ticket prices displayed in Brushfire will automatically show the total all-in price, including fees. Brushfire already had this feature as optional, known as "Inclusive Fees."
2. Customizable Fields and Email Communications
While our system will automatically update the main ticket pricing displays, please note that customizable fields in Brushfire (such as on the Details Pages) and prices mentioned in emails sent through our system will need your attention. The system cannot automatically enforce how prices appear in these user-customizable areas we’ve provided for you on our platform. To remain compliant with the FTC regulations, you must ensure that any price references in these customizable fields also display the final all-inclusive price.
3. Order Level Fee Changes
For customers utilizing Order Level Fees, we're removing the flat fee option and will only allow percentage-based fees. This change ensures that fees can be accurately calculated and displayed per ticket at the first point of display, as required by the new regulations.
4. Brushfire Online and Event App Considerations
Any pricing displayed in Brushfire Online and the Event App will also be affected by these regulations. You will need to review all price displays within these products to ensure your compliance. This includes ticket pricing displays, event listings, upgrade options, and any other areas where prices are shown to attendees.
What This Means For You
While Brushfire will automatically implement the core pricing display changes on May 6th to give ample time to prepare for the effective date of May 12, 2025, there are important actions you need to take:
1. Audit Your Customizable Fields
Review all areas where you've displayed prices in customizable fields within Brushfire, such as event details, event emails, and confirmation emails, to ensure they communicate the all-inclusive price.
2. Update Order Level Fee Settings
If you're currently using flat fee options for Order Level Fees, these will no longer be available after May 12th. Only percentage-based fees will remain as an option. If you want to recover the same amount previously charged as a flat fee, you'll need to manually calculate and adjust your percentage rate to achieve a similar result. For example, if you charged a $0.30 flat fee on a $20 ticket, you would need to add approximately a 1.5% fee to the percentage fee you were already charging to maintain similar revenue.
3. Review External Marketing Materials
According to the FTC regulations, you must display all-inclusive pricing on all marketing channels where you mention prices, including your website, social media accounts, printed materials, and other promotional content.
We're Here to Help
Our award-winning support team is ready to assist with any questions you might have about these changes. We understand that pricing transparency has always been important to you and your attendees. We're committed to making this transition as smooth as possible.
Thank you for your continued partnership with Brushfire. We remain dedicated to providing powerful solutions that help your events succeed while ensuring you stay compliant with evolving regulations.