Federal Trade Commission and bipartisan state attorney general file lawsuit Ticketmaster Its parent company said Thursday they are forcing consumers to pay for more live events through various illegal strategies.
FTC says Live the country Its subsidiaries Ticketmasterdeceived artists and consumers by advertising fares below what consumers must pay and claiming to impose strict restrictions on the number of tickets consumers can purchase.
FTC says, in fact Ticketmaster Coordinate with ticket brokers who bypass these ticket restrictions. Brokers use fake accounts to buy millions of dollars in tickets and then sell them at a large price tag Ticketmaster’s platform. Ticketmaster The FTC said it benefits from the additional fees it charges for sale.
The Associated Press left news Thursday with California-based Beverly Hills news Live entertainment.
Ticketmaster According to the FTC, the main ticket price that controls major concert venues in the United States is 80% or more. Consumers spend more than $82.6 billion on ticket purchases Ticketmaster The agency added that between 2019 and 2024.
“The American live entertainment is the best entertainment in the world and we should all be able to enter,” FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said in a statement.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Joining the lawsuit are attorneys in Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Nebraska, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia.
Ticketmaster It has been in the sight of lawmakers since 2022, when it spectacularly sold ticket sales for Taylor Swift’s Times Tour. The company’s website is flooded with attacks from fans and broker robots that are snapping up tickets to be sold at secondary locations. Senator baking Live the country At the 2023 hearing.
But the industry’s reform speed is very slow. Biden administration takes action to ban garbage fees, demanding Ticketmaster Once consumers start shopping, the full price of the ticket will be displayed. The rule comes into effect in May.
President Donald Trump is also targeting the industry. In March, Trump was around the Oval Office, where he signed an executive order directing U.S. officials to ensure ticket dealers comply with domestic tax services rules. The order also directs the FTC to “take enforcement actions to prevent unfair, deceptive and anti-competitive behavior in the secondary ticketing market.”
In August, the FTC sued the use of a Maryland-based ticket brokerage key investment team, accusing it of using thousands of virtual Ticketmaster Accounts and other ways to buy tickets to events, including Swift’s trip.
