The $3.25 facility fee goes to Clear Channel to cover building maintenance, debt payments and profit. "It's one of the revenue streams that keeps these multimillion-dollar facilities up and operating," Eckerman said.

The $3.50-per-order handling charge generates additional profit for Ticketmaster and covers the cost of mailing and processing the tickets.

Clear Channel also adds a $3.50 parking fee to the price of each ticket instead of charging for each car arriving to a venue parking lot. In most cases, Eckerman said, the company doesn't disclose that fee to the ticket buyer.

"Is there a reason it's not broken out? No. It's just simplifying the process," he said.

Eckerman said having each ticket holder pay a slightly lower fee than the one assessed to each car "works out to the same economics." Customers who purchase a ticket and then decide to park at a venue's VIP lots essentially are paying for parking twice.

"You're paying to upgrade your parking, is how I would put it," Eckerman said.

The extra fees are imposed on all tickets purchased by telephone or on the Internet. Lower fees are assessed on tickets purchased in person at Ticketmaster outlets, where the $20-face-value ticket is sold for $31.35. Customers can avoid Ticketmaster charges by visiting the amphitheater box office, where Clear Channel charges a $3.50 fee. But the box office is open only on the first day of sales and the day of the show.

Before Clear Channel began buying up promoters and concert venues in dozens of media markets, it was common practice for bands to compare the pricing practices and pay offered by competing promoters in each market. Some agents and managers fear that Clear Channel's consolidation will lead to even higher fees on the price of each ticket.

This is not the first time concerns have been raised about monopolistic practices within the concert industry. In 1995, the Justice Department considered filing antitrust charges against Ticketmaster. Seattle rock band Pearl Jam had filed a memorandum accusing the company of maintaining a monopoly on ticket distribution by locking up the nation's venues under exclusive contracts. The department's antitrust division decided to take no action.

Stephen Brobeck, executive director of the Washington-based Consumer Federation of America, said the decision amounted to a green light to jack up surcharges. The increase in Ticketmaster fees, Brobeck said, is "the inevitable result of an unregulated monopoly. It's an instance of consumers being nickel-and-dimed to death."

Ticketmaster's service fee, which typically added $5 or $6 to the price of a ticket back then, now is often $9 to $11 for popular acts. And the facility fee charged by venue owners has risen just as sharply, from $1 or $2 up to $4.

Artists attempting to hold down the price of tickets to their concerts can haggle with promoters over certain fees. But given Clear Channel's size and clout, some artist managers say the choice is often to accept the promoter's decision or stay home.