I was shocked to hear the FTC is suing Ticketmaster and Live Nation! Apparently, they’re being accused of breaking the law with how they handle ticket resales. It sounds like they’ve been doing some shady things in their resale business, and now they’re facing legal trouble.
Newly released court documents show the government is accusing Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation Entertainment, of illegally reselling concert tickets. The claim is that brokers are buying tickets initially intended for fans, then relisting them on Ticketmaster at significantly inflated prices.
FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson believes live entertainment in the U.S. is the best globally and everyone should be able to enjoy it. He stated that events like baseball games and concerts shouldn’t be so expensive that families can’t afford to attend.
As a fan, I’m really frustrated to hear the FTC is looking into this ticket company. Apparently, they’re advertising one price for tickets, but then hitting you with a bunch of extra fees when you go to actually buy them – basically, it’s not the price you see at first! It feels like a sneaky trick, and it’s not fair to either us, the fans, or the artists who expect their fans to have a clear price for tickets.
I’ve been using Ticketmaster for years – it’s been the biggest name in concert tickets since 1995, and honestly, most of the shows I’ve wanted to go to, I’ve bought through them. They handle around 80% of all live concert tickets! Lately, they’ve also been getting more involved in the resale market, which is interesting. It’s crazy to think about how much money people are spending through them – the FTC says over $82.6 billion went to Ticketmaster between 2019 and 2024!
The lawsuit follows years of customer complaints about the difficulty of buying tickets and the high prices they often end up paying.
In 2010, Ticketmaster and Live Nation joined together, a move that immediately raised concerns about potential monopolies. Recently, the Department of Justice sued Live Nation, and is considering splitting up the company because of accusations that it unfairly controls the market.
Taylor Swift’s incredibly popular Eras Tour generated a lot of news, including lawsuits from fans who were unhappy with the ticket seller’s practices, alleging unfair behavior. Now, with tickets going on sale for Ariana Grande’s upcoming tour, Ticketmaster is facing similar criticism. Currently, resale tickets for Grande’s Los Angeles shows next June are starting at $780 and going for as high as $7,000.
The FTC claims Ticketmaster knows brokers often get around security and use fake internet addresses. They also say Ticketmaster has repeatedly refused to improve security to stop these brokers and automated bots.
The FTC claims Ticketmaster not only lacks adequate security measures, but also misleads customers by initially displaying lower prices and then adding hefty, mandatory fees – sometimes as much as 44% of the total ticket cost – right before the purchase is finalized. These fees generated a total of $16.4 billion in revenue for Ticketmaster between 2019 and 2024.
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2025-09-18 22:01