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Friday, October 03, 2025
Senators Demand Answers From Ticketmaster on Bots Testimony After FTC Lawsuit
TicketNews: Two U.S. Senators are pressing Ticketmaster to clarify whether executives misled Congress about their efforts to combat ticket-buying bots, following last month’s Federal Trade Commission lawsuit alleging the company enabled widespread price gouging.
4 comments:
Maxwell Hamilton
said...
This is such an interesting debate. I mean it's so hard to combat the ever increasing artificial intelligence. This is such an interesting way to exploit a system. Personally I think that it's insane that they are continuing to allow this type of thing to happen. As it's preventing people from seeing shows that they want to see. I wouldn't be surprised if Ticketmaster was involved in purposefully allowing something like this to happen, it is more money for them if they involve themselves in it, and it's terrible that this is another absolutely bad look for the entertainment industry. As someone that works in this industry it's becoming more and more exploitative by the day, and it's becoming incredibly worrying about how far companies are willing to take their actions. Look at accidents like the Travis Scott concert. I think there needs to be more control and regulations in the industry, and also for there to be more job security. Better ways to break into this industry.
I didn’t realize the full depth of the BOTS case until now. I’m amazed that TicketMaster had done what they’ve done, just in general, for so long and gotten away with it. It’s ridiculous that they not only did nothing to stop scalpers and bots, but they actually started working with them. It’s cost consumers billions in the last few years. They have nine days to respond to Congress’ letter, so we’ll probably be able to read about their response next week. I’m excited to see what TicketMaster’s CFO will say in response. It seems apparent that they’ve lied before, so will they do it again? I imagine it would take some audacity to deny what that letter is questioning them about, especially since this isn’t the first time. Letters like these seem to be worded like the writer knows what’s going on and is just trying to see if the recipient will be honest or not.
This whole Ticketmaster situation has been very interesting to follow. I’m honestly still a little bit shocked that Ticketmaster and Live Nation are actually being scrutinized, since it seems like the kind of situation where a blind eye would be turned to it because of “the economy” or something. I read the full letter to Ticketmaster from the senators that was attached in the article, and it was actually really interesting. All of the specific evidence points really seemed to show that Ticketmaster was up to some no-good shenanigans when it came to dealing with scalpers and such (considering encouraging scalpers to consolidate their accounts to make it easier for them to access their scalped tickets is crazy!), and the fact that they did not respond to the letter is also a little odd. I’m definitely curious to see what happens with this lawsuit, and I really hope to see changes in the coming years that will help improve the ticket purchasing experience for actual fans.
Reading about Senator Blackburn calling out Ticketmaster made me realize just how little trust I have in the ticketing industry anymore. Every time I see stories like this, it feels like nothing ever changes, and regular fans keep paying the price for corporate greed and bots buying up tickets before anyone else even has a chance. I’ve had that same frustration when trying to get tickets myself, watching everything sell out in seconds, only to see them relisted online for ridiculous prices. I think the article shows how these companies act like they care about fairness, but it’s all talk until someone forces them to answer for it. What I find interesting is how lawmakers are finally getting involved again, but I can’t help wondering if it will actually lead to anything real. It feels like one of those issues everyone complains about but no one fixes.
4 comments:
This is such an interesting debate. I mean it's so hard to combat the ever increasing artificial intelligence. This is such an interesting way to exploit a system. Personally I think that it's insane that they are continuing to allow this type of thing to happen. As it's preventing people from seeing shows that they want to see. I wouldn't be surprised if Ticketmaster was involved in purposefully allowing something like this to happen, it is more money for them if they involve themselves in it, and it's terrible that this is another absolutely bad look for the entertainment industry. As someone that works in this industry it's becoming more and more exploitative by the day, and it's becoming incredibly worrying about how far companies are willing to take their actions. Look at accidents like the Travis Scott concert. I think there needs to be more control and regulations in the industry, and also for there to be more job security. Better ways to break into this industry.
I didn’t realize the full depth of the BOTS case until now. I’m amazed that TicketMaster had done what they’ve done, just in general, for so long and gotten away with it. It’s ridiculous that they not only did nothing to stop scalpers and bots, but they actually started working with them. It’s cost consumers billions in the last few years. They have nine days to respond to Congress’ letter, so we’ll probably be able to read about their response next week. I’m excited to see what TicketMaster’s CFO will say in response. It seems apparent that they’ve lied before, so will they do it again? I imagine it would take some audacity to deny what that letter is questioning them about, especially since this isn’t the first time. Letters like these seem to be worded like the writer knows what’s going on and is just trying to see if the recipient will be honest or not.
This whole Ticketmaster situation has been very interesting to follow. I’m honestly still a little bit shocked that Ticketmaster and Live Nation are actually being scrutinized, since it seems like the kind of situation where a blind eye would be turned to it because of “the economy” or something. I read the full letter to Ticketmaster from the senators that was attached in the article, and it was actually really interesting. All of the specific evidence points really seemed to show that Ticketmaster was up to some no-good shenanigans when it came to dealing with scalpers and such (considering encouraging scalpers to consolidate their accounts to make it easier for them to access their scalped tickets is crazy!), and the fact that they did not respond to the letter is also a little odd. I’m definitely curious to see what happens with this lawsuit, and I really hope to see changes in the coming years that will help improve the ticket purchasing experience for actual fans.
Reading about Senator Blackburn calling out Ticketmaster made me realize just how little trust I have in the ticketing industry anymore. Every time I see stories like this, it feels like nothing ever changes, and regular fans keep paying the price for corporate greed and bots buying up tickets before anyone else even has a chance. I’ve had that same frustration when trying to get tickets myself, watching everything sell out in seconds, only to see them relisted online for ridiculous prices. I think the article shows how these companies act like they care about fairness, but it’s all talk until someone forces them to answer for it. What I find interesting is how lawmakers are finally getting involved again, but I can’t help wondering if it will actually lead to anything real. It feels like one of those issues everyone complains about but no one fixes.
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