"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. The FTC said Live Nation and its subsidiary, Ticketmaster, have deceived artists and consumers by advertising lower ticket prices than what consumers must pay and falsely claiming to impose strict limits on the number of tickets consumers can buy for an event."
"In reality, the FTC said, Ticketmaster coordinates with ticket brokers who bypass those ticket limits. The FTC said brokers use fake accounts to buy up millions of dollars worth of tickets and then sell them at a substantial markup on Ticketmaster's platform. Ticketmaster benefits from the additional fees it collects from those sales, the FTC said. Ticketmaster controls 80% or more of major U.S. concert venues' primary ticketing, according to the FTC."
"The Associated Press left messages seeking comment Thursday with Beverly Hills, California-based Live Nation Entertainment. Ticketmaster has been in lawmakers' sights since 2022, when it spectacularly botched ticket sales for Taylor Swift's Eras Tour. The company's site was overwhelmed by fans and attacks from brokers' bots, which were scooping up tickets to sell on secondary sites. Senators grilled Live Nation in a 2023 hearing."
Federal regulators and a bipartisan group of state attorneys general filed a lawsuit alleging Live Nation and Ticketmaster used deceptive and illegal tactics that force consumers to pay more for live events. The complaint alleges advertised ticket prices were lower than final consumer prices and purported purchase limits were false because Ticketmaster coordinated with brokers who bypass limits using fake accounts and bots. Brokers resold tickets at substantial markups on Ticketmaster's platform, generating additional fee revenue for Ticketmaster. Ticketmaster controls roughly 80% of major U.S. venues' primary ticketing, and consumers spent more than $82.6 billion on Ticketmaster from 2019 to 2024.
Read at ABC7 Los Angeles
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]