FTC Sues Ticketmaster Over Illegal Broker Coordination
▼ Summary
– The White House is targeting Ticketmaster and Live Nation in an antitrust action, with both companies widely seen as problematic.
– The FTC accuses Ticketmaster of enabling ticket brokers to illegally exceed purchase limits and profit from inflated resale prices.
– Customers often pay well above face value because resellers acquire most tickets first.
– Ticketmaster profits twice by taking a cut when tickets are resold on its platform.
– The company allegedly uses deceptive pricing practices and leadership ignores broker violations as policy.
The Federal Trade Commission has initiated a significant legal challenge against Ticketmaster, alleging the company engaged in illegal coordination with ticket brokers to manipulate the market and harm consumers. This lawsuit represents a major development in ongoing efforts to promote fairness within the live event ticketing industry, where fans frequently encounter frustration and unexpectedly high costs.
According to the FTC, Ticketmaster permitted brokers to bypass purchase limits, enabling them to acquire large quantities of tickets that were later resold at inflated prices. This practice leaves many customers paying well above the original face value, as initial supplies are quickly exhausted. When these same tickets are resold through Ticketmaster’s platform, the company collects additional fees, effectively profiting multiple times from a single ticket sale.
The complaint further asserts that Ticketmaster’s leadership deliberately ignored these activities, adopting a policy of turning “a blind eye” to broker violations. In addition to these coordination allegations, the FTC accuses the company of employing deceptive advertising practices, prominently displaying lower initial prices that spike significantly by the time customers reach checkout. These tactics, the agency argues, mislead consumers and undermine trust in the ticketing process.
(Source: The Verge)
