Musicians of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Chief Conductor Simone Young. Photo source: Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
In Tuesday’s (3/17) Australian Financial Review, Michael Bailey writes, “Sydney Symphony Orchestra has removed the $8.95 booking fee on all tickets to its performances purchased from it directly, arguing the impost disproportionately impacted students and other lower-price ticket buyers. The orchestra is one of just a handful of live events organizers to have removed the charge. Typically around $9, a separately disclosed booking fee is ubiquitous in Australia, and is meant to pay for the technology required to distribute tickets, and the staff required to sell, service and scan them…. Student rush tickets for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra start at $20, and the $8.95 booking fee had been adding nearly 45 percent to their cost…. The Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s decision to remove its booking fee at the start of this year was based on feedback from social media and the box office team, said chief executive Craig Whitehead … ‘By removing booking fees, we’re making it clear and straightforward for our audiences, ensuring that the price you see is the price you pay’ … Whitehead was hopeful that much of the revenue the SSO used to book from the booking fee … would be made back from higher ticket sales.”
