variety.com: The Federal Trade Commission and seven states sued Live Nation and Ticketmaster on Thursday, alleging the companies worked with ticket brokers in the secondary market. The lawsuit claims the companies enabled scalpers to purchase beyond their advertised ticket purchasing limits, allowing for the resale of tickets at steep markups far above face value.
12 comments:
a. The news about Live Nation and Ticketmaster being sued does not surprise me. The fact that it’s taken this long for the federal government to step in is surprising though. It’s been a known fact for years among venues and artists that Live Nation is a predatory company that has been driving costs up, allowing scalpers to purchase more tickets, squashing competition in cities where they operate, and cheating artists. At the end of this article the mention of putting a member on their board who is closely connected to the current administration makes me wonder if there are shady deals about to take place like so many other things that have been happening in the entertainment industry where threats have made huge corporations fold to the wishes of the administration. I wonder how the two lawsuits will play out, will it be a lengthy legal battle or is a threat enough for the administration to pull off a bait and switch for loyalty from Live Nation to the current administration allowing harm to be caused further down the line and no threat of legal repercussions because of it.
Man, I hate Ticketmaster. I think this is an important and vital move that was a long time coming. Ticketmaster, Live Nation and companies like them have monopolized live event ticket sales for too long at the expense of the common person. I don’t like a lot (most) of the moves the current administration has made when it comes to the management of the economy but this is the kind of action that is vital to the survival of the entertainment industry. While I’m not a proponent of slippery slope-type arguments, just in my lifetime I have seen the steady decline of consumer trust in these companies as they give more and more power to scalpers and second-hand markets that drive up prices. By putting profit before service, companies like Ticketmaster have undermined consumer trust and ability to see live events by putting a massive paywall at every turn. I hope this move causes some very needed change and moves the needle away from corporate greed and back in favor of the fans who just want to see shows live.
I think it’s great that TicketMaster and LiveNation finally got some sort of punishment for what they’ve been doing for so long. I didn’t know that they got sued in May of last year, so that’s great too. I remember last year that a good chunk of articles on the blog were actually about TicketMaster and its problems. Not only scalping, hidden fees, and crazy high prices, but I remember TicketMaster had some major technical problems that absolutely ruined some events. It’s amazing how they got away with what they were doing for so long, really. It was surprising to read that the company has control over 80% of the entire market. I always used to wonder why people would still use TicketMaster, but I guess they had no choice. I hope that these moves against them will actually result in some change. It would be nice to get a statement from TicketMaster and Livenation on the topic to see what they’re going to do in response.
I'm so glad that ticket master and live nation are facing repercussions for what they're doing to live entertainment. they truly make attending concerts, shows, and other live events so much more difficult for people which in turn hurts the industry. Instead of the money people spend on tickets going to the artists and technicians actually making the show happen it goes into the pockets of greedy corporations. often when I want to go see something I have to buy tickets immediately when they go on sale because I'm not about to buy them for like 3 times what they're worth. even then the prices of tickets these days are truly outrageous. There was a concert I really wanted to go to about 2 years ago and the cheapest tickets I could find were $350 for obstructed view all the way in the back of an arena. I hope that this time unlike many of the other ticket master headlines I've seen actually results in changes.
I’m glad that TicketMaster and the like are starting to see some consequences for unfairly driving the prices of live entertainment sky high. With live entertainment still gradually returning to its previous levels from before the pandemic, the last thing that the industry needs is middle-men driving up prices and pocketing the excess. These companies have used their near monopoly over ticket sales to control the market for their own gain for years. Not to mention the technical issues that have occurred during many large events. A single company outside of the production having technical issues being able to ruin many events adds too much risk to many events. Sure, these technical issues occurred relatively rarely but I would argue that even the few times that these issues have occurred should be enough to dissuade many from trusting these companies with handling the ticketing of their events. I hope that this lawsuit will dissuade these business practices in the future.
Well, that was quick. Earlier this week I read an article talking about how Live Nation’s stocks were soaring in spite of an active antitrust investigation by the Department of Justice. Now, the Federal Trade Commission is suing Live Nation over unfair ticketing practices. Interestingly, this lawsuit is over a completely different subject than the DOJ investigation, which was looking at Live Nation’s potential monopoly. The FTC is likely to win here in my opinion, given Ticketmaster’s history of issues regarding ticket sales, as bots would grab almost every ticket faster than any human could the second they were released. Rather than seeing this whole thing play out in court, Ticketmaster may very well change its practices and find a way to get the Federal Trade Commission to drop the suit. Then again, they may try and stall for time for years on end, forcing the government to keep pushing forward.
It is about damn time! I know there have been so many lawsuits in the past. So much so that it really is not news when a new one is filed. It really does just feel like lawsuit after lawsuit against ticket master and all of these other programs, but I am glad that a giant like the Federal Trade Commission is finally doing something about it and pushing back. Ticketmaster and these other platforms have created a monopoly in a system where that should not be the case. It is affecting the American people to the point where people are having to choose between going to see a show and eating for a week, and that is a choice that should never have to be made. Tickets are ridiculously expensive, and they need to come down in price now. I also hold the artists responsible for allowing their tickets to go for so much money.
Resellers have been gouging the pockets of consumers in the United States for years with consoles, electronic components, and tickets. They will resell anything with a short supply for 100 to 500 percent more in order to make some money because they swipe up the stock first. These resales even helped ticketmaster’s profits because they would sometimes go through their resale platform and they would get a cut of each sale as the host. This allowance and lack of prevention of grifting people is a gross allowance of a free market. The fans and artists are outraged about this. The artists want all fans to be able to listen and enjoy their music, not just the rich ones willing to give most of their money to a third party. This case has been growing for a long time now and it is good that live nation and ticketmaster might finally be held responsible.
As a theatre student at CMU who also took Unit 5 of *We the People*, reading this article about the FTC suing Ticketmaster and Live Nation immediately made me think about fairness, accountability, and the role of government in protecting citizens. For years, I’ve heard people complain about hidden fees, bots scooping up tickets, and resellers charging outrageous prices, but it often felt like nothing was being done. Seeing the FTC step in feels significant because it acknowledges that these practices aren’t just annoying—they may actually be illegal and harmful to both artists and audiences. From my perspective, this connects directly to the constitutional principles I studied in *We the People*. Unit 5 emphasized how laws are supposed to check concentrated power, whether in government or in corporations, to prevent abuse. Ticketmaster’s dominance over live event ticketing seems like a clear example of power being used unfairly, limiting access and exploiting consumers. As someone passionate about theater and live performance, I think accessibility matters. Live shows should be experiences people from all backgrounds can share in, not privileges reserved for the few who can pay inflated resale prices. If this lawsuit leads to more transparency, fairer pricing, and accountability, I would see it as not just a victory for fans but also for the democratic values we studied in class.
I am always overwhelmed when I go to buy tickets for an event. Specifically large concerts or sporting games. Because I go to look up tickets there are like what feels like 700 choices and they are all different websites and different prices. And I never know what is real and what is fake and what is a decent price. I think ticket prices in general are way too high right now I cannot imagine what resell prices look like. Ticketmaster specifically makes me upset after sitting in queues waiting for tickets that cost an arm and a leg and dealing with all the other people. And then they slap a big ole processing fee on it. This lawsuit does not surprise me at all but unfortunately I also do not see it going anywhere. I hope it does but I think this news will be irrelevant in about one day and then probably come back up and then go away.
This has enraged me for years, I’m glad some change has finally come about. The amount of events completely inaccessible because of the markups, additional fees that make no sense (that we all could tell were bs,) all of it terrible. As of the last couple years, I’ve been very specifically only seeing smaller artists live, not only due to preference of overall experience but also because of the huge pricing difference with a big name. It’s so disappointing to see your favorite artist coming to town and not have the money for a billion dollar ticket. It’s also sad because when there are markups on tickets that no consumers are willing to pay, artists miss out on a larger audience even though the tickets were sold. None of it is fair, so I’m glad my ticketmaster resentment can finally calm down. I totally saw this coming though, I think we all did. Except for perhaps the people who paid upwards of 1k for an Eras tour ticket… crazy to me.
Honestly thank god that someone is trying to governmentally and judiciously put Ticketmaster and Live Nation in their places. I’ve gone to see a lot of concerts in the past few years and it is ridiculously expensive. I completely understand that as artists get bigger, and they move into arena and stadium shows that the ticket prices would increase as you are getting more bang for your buck. But 300, 500, 800?! Dollars for one ticket to see an artist is CRAZY. And the bigger issue is that the artists are not pricing their tickets like that, it is simply because these sites are allowing bots and resellers to pick up all the tickets and massively jack up the prices for actual fans to purchase. And the fees are stupid, because why am I paying like $100 for a “holding” or “delivery” fee when it is a completely online transaction and my tickets are automatically emailed to me. It’s super frustrating and I hope this lawsuit brings upon some kind of positive action.
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