Ticketmaster Faces Sweeping US Lawsuit Over Alleged Illegal Resale Tactics and Hidden Fees
US regulators and the FTC sued Ticketmaster and Live Nation for alleged deceptive pricing, illegal resale tactics, and collaborating with brokers to inflate ticket costs, impacting consumers.
Overview
- US regulators, including the FTC and state prosecutors, have filed a lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment and Ticketmaster in a U.S. District Court.
- The lawsuit alleges Ticketmaster dominates 80% of major U.S. concert venues, using anti-competitive practices, deceptive pricing, and failing to disclose mandatory fees.
- Accusations include collaborating with brokers to bypass ticket limits and security, illegally reselling tickets, and inflating prices, violating the Better Online Ticket Sales Act.
- From 2019 to 2024, Ticketmaster allegedly charged $3.7 billion in resale fees, with overall practices costing consumers millions and earning the companies hundreds of millions.
- The Biden administration has also acted against junk fees, while Ticketmaster and Live Nation have not yet responded to requests for comment on these allegations.
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Analysis
Center-leaning sources cover the FTC's lawsuit against Live Nation/Ticketmaster by clearly attributing all strong allegations to the FTC complaint. They present the core accusations, such as 'bait and switch' and 'triple dipping,' as claims made by the regulatory body. The coverage also includes Live Nation's counter-arguments, demonstrating an effort to provide a balanced account of the legal dispute.
"The FTC and seven states have sued Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation for allegedly “deceptive” ticket resale tactics."
Gizmodo"Ticketmaster profited from the allegedly illegal tactics and the "tacit agreement" with brokers, regulators said."
BBC News"The lawsuit accuses Ticketmaster and Live Nation of participating in three main illegal practices."
NPR"The Federal Trade Commission and state prosecutors on Thursday filed a joint lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment and Ticketmaster accusing the event services of allowing brokers to scoop up event tickets and resell them at inflated prices, costing consumers billions of dollars."
CBS News"The Federal Trade Commission and a bipartisan group of state attorneys general sued Ticketmaster and its parent company Thursday, saying they are forcing consumers to pay more to see live events through a variety of illegal tactics."
Associated Press"Defendants have tacitly worked with those very same scalpers, allowing them to unlawfully purchase millions of dollars in tickets in the primary market, so that Defendants can extract more profit for themselves when reselling those tickets on the secondary market."
Deadline"The Federal Trade Commission is suing Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation, over allegations of illegal and deceptive business practices that it says resulted in consumers paying "significantly more" than the face value of a ticket."
NBC NewsArticles (10)
FAQ
Ticketmaster is accused of deceptive pricing by advertising lower ticket prices than consumers actually pay, hiding mandatory fees until the end of transactions, collaborating with brokers to bypass ticket limits using fake accounts, illegally reselling tickets at inflated prices, and violating the Better Online Ticket Sales Act.
Ticketmaster controls about 80% or more of the primary ticketing for major U.S. concert venues, making it the leading provider in the market.
From 2019 to 2024, consumers paid more than $82.6 billion for tickets through Ticketmaster, including $16.4 billion in hidden fees. The company earned hundreds of millions of dollars from these alleged deceptive resale fees, which totaled about $3.7 billion in that period.
The lawsuit claims Ticketmaster violated the Federal Trade Commission Act, which prohibits deceptive acts or practices in the marketplace, and the Better Online Ticket Sales Act, which regulates ticket resale practices.
The Biden administration has been actively addressing issues related to junk fees and deceptive pricing to protect consumers, with the FTC taking significant actions like this lawsuit to promote fair ticket pricing and accessibility to live events.
History
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