FTC sues Ticketmaster, saying it forces fans to pay more for concerts and events

"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 controls 80% or more of major U.S. concert venues' primary ticketing, according to the FTC. Consumers spent more than $82.6 billion buying tickets from Ticketmaster between 2019 and 2024, the agency added. American live entertainment is the best in the world and should be accessible to all of us. It should not cost an arm and a leg to take the family to a baseball game or attend your favorite musician's show, FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said in a statement."

"The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Joining the lawsuit were the attorneys general of Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Nebraska, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia. 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."

The Federal Trade Commission and a bipartisan group of state attorneys general sued Ticketmaster and Live Nation, alleging deceptive practices that force consumers to pay more for live events. Ticketmaster allegedly advertised lower ticket prices and falsely claimed strict purchase limits while coordinating with ticket brokers who bypass those limits. Brokers reportedly used fake accounts to buy millions of dollars worth of tickets and resold them at substantial markups on Ticketmaster's platform, generating extra fees for Ticketmaster. Ticketmaster controls about 80% of major U.S. concert venues' primary ticketing, and consumers spent over $82.6 billion on Ticketmaster tickets from 2019 to 2024. Attorneys general from several states joined the lawsuit filed in the Central District of California; Ticketmaster faced prior bot-driven failures and congressional scrutiny.

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