The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), alongside a bipartisan group of state attorneys general, has initiated legal action against Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation Entertainment. The lawsuit alleges that the company is employing a range of illegal tactics that force consumers to pay inflated prices for live events.
According to the FTC, both Ticketmaster and Live Nation have misled artists and consumers by advertising lower ticket prices that do not reflect the true costs faced by buyers. The agency claims that Ticketmaster has falsely asserted strict limits on ticket purchases for events, yet collaborates with ticket brokers who exploit these limits. These brokers reportedly create fake accounts to purchase large quantities of tickets, which they then resell on Ticketmaster’s platform at significant markups. The FTC contends that Ticketmaster profits from the added fees associated with these resales.
Ticketmaster currently holds a dominant position in the market, controlling upwards of 80% of primary ticketing for major concert venues in the United States. From 2019 to 2024, consumers are estimated to have spent over $82.6 billion on tickets via the Ticketmaster platform.
FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson emphasized the importance of accessible live entertainment for all, stating that it should not be prohibitively expensive for families to attend events like baseball games or concerts.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, with support from attorneys general representing states including Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Nebraska, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia. Ticketmaster has faced scrutiny from legislators since the fall of 2022, particularly following a widely criticized failure to manage ticket sales for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. The company’s website was overwhelmed with demand, compounded by automated systems that bought up tickets for resale on secondary markets, leading to a heated hearing where senators questioned Live Nation’s practices.
Though the Biden administration has begun implementing reforms aimed at curbing deceptive pricing tactics—such as the requirement for Ticketmaster to display full ticket prices upfront—broader industry changes have been slow to materialize. In March, former President Donald Trump also targeted the ticketing sector, signing an executive order that directed federal officials to ensure compliance by ticket resellers with IRS regulations and instructed the FTC to take action against unfair practices in the secondary ticketing marketplace. In an additional development, the FTC brought a lawsuit against a Maryland-based ticket broker, Key Investment Group, in August, alleging that it had used various deceptive tactics, including creating thousands of phony Ticketmaster accounts to secure tickets for high-demand events.
