The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Thursday filed a lawsuit against Ticketmaster and its corporate parent, Live Nation, accusing the companies of deceiving performing artists and consumers about price and ticket limits.
Seven states joined the FTC's lawsuit against Ticketmaster and Live Nation for allegedly engaging in tacit coordination with brokers whom they have allowed to harvest millions of dollars worth of tickets in the open market.
According to the complaint, Ticketmaster and Live Nation then sold the illegally harvested tickets at a substantial markup, which caused consumers in the secondary market to pay significantly more than face value.
The FTC's lawsuit also accused Ticketmaster of deceiving artists and consumers through bait-and-switch pricing through advertising lower prices than the actual purchase cost, claiming to impose strict limits on the number of tickets that consumers could purchase despite brokers routinely exceeding those, and selling millions of tickets on a resale platform that brokers obtained in excess of artists' ticket limits.
FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said that President Donald Trump's executive order made it clear that the federal government "must protect Americans from being ripped off when they buy tickets to live events."
"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. The Trump-Vance FTC is working hard to ensure that fans have a shot at buying fair-priced tickets, and today's lawsuit is a monumental step in that direction," Ferguson added.
The FTC's suit claims that Ticketmaster's practices violate the FTC Act's prohibition on deceptive acts or practices as well as the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act. The agency is seeking civil penalties against Ticketmaster and additional monetary relief.
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Trump signed an executive order in March that aimed to end price-gouging by ticket resellers. The order directed the FTC to enforce the BOTS Act, promote price transparency in ticket sales and also crack down on deceptive or anti-competitive conduct.
Last year under the Biden administration, the FTC and Justice Department sued Ticketmaster alleging antitrust violations, accusing Live Nation of having a monopoly over live event tickets. The lawsuit could result in Live Nation being compelled to sell Ticketmaster.
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The antitrust lawsuit followed a controversy when Ticketmaster's website crashed during a pre-sale event for Taylor Swift's Eras Tour in November 2022, which resulted in scalpers purchasing a significant number of tickets that were later sold at large markups on the secondary market.
FOX Business reached out to Live Nation and Ticketmaster for comment.
