The Federal Trade Committee and a group of public lawyers of the two parties filed a lawsuit against TicketyMaster on Thursday, saying that they are forcing consumers to pay more to watch live events through a variety of illegal tactics.
FTC said that Live Nation and its subsidiary, Ticketmaster, have deceived artists and consumers by announcing low ticket prices, which consumers must pay and demand strict borders on the number of tickets that consumers can buy for an event.
In fact, FTC said, Ticketmaster coordinates with ticket brokers who exceed these ticket limits. FTC said the brokers use fake accounts to buy tickets worth millions of dollars and then sell them with a great description on the TicketyMaster platform. FTC said Ticketmaster benefits from the additional fees it collects from these sales.
Associated Press left messages seeking to comment on Thursday with Beverly Hills, California -based Live Nation.
Ticketmaster controls 80 % or more of the main tickets for the main concert places in the United States, according to FTC. The agency added that consumers spent more than 82.6 billion dollars to buy tickets from Ticketmaster between 2019 and 2024.
“The American entertainment is the best in the world and must be available to all of us. It should not cost an arm and leg to move the family to the baseball game or attend your favorite music show,” Andrew Ferguson, Chairman of the Federal Trade Committee said in a statement.
The lawsuit was filed in the Central Central Province Court in California. He joined the lawsuit in the public prosecutor in Colorado, Florida, Ilinoi, Nebraska, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia.
Ticketmaster was in the legislator’s scenes since 2022, when it was Amazing failed ticket sales To Taylor Swift Trend Tour. The company’s website was immersed by fans and robots of mediators, which were attracting tickets to sell on secondary sites. Senate members Grilled living nation At the 2023 hearing.
But reform in industry Be slow. The Biden Administration has taken measures with a ProhibitionTicketmaster demanding the full price of the ticket as soon as consumers start shopping. This rule entered into force in May.
President Donald Trump also took the goal of this industry. In March, With Kid Rock next to him In the Oval Office, Trump signed an executive order directing US officials to ensure that ticket players comply with the internal revenue service rules. The request also directed FTC to “take enforcement measures to prevent unfair, deceptive and anti -competition behavior in the secondary ticket market.”
In August, FTC A lawsuit against the Maryland -based ticket broker Use the main investment group, claiming that it used thousands of fake ticket accounts and other ways to buy tickets for events, including the Swift Tour.