The suit accuses Live Nation of charging exorbitant fees and allowing bots to buy tickets in bulk and resell them at a markup, sometimes as high as 500%.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed a lawsuit against Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation. charging users exorbitant fees and allowing the use of bots to buy tickets in bulk and resell them at a markup, sometimes as high as 500%.
Per the New York Post, the FTC is seeking billions of dollars in penalties under the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act, a federal law signed in 2016 to stop bots from monopolising ticket markets by outlawing their ability to bypass security measures and purchase large numbers of tickets and in turn raising prices.
Under the BOTS Act, the FTS is able to seek $53,000 in fines per violation. A source cited by the New York Post claimed that “The total amount of fines are potentially in the hundreds of billions of dollars.”
The complaint also accuses Ticketmaster of misleading customers when listing prices. According to the complaint, filed in California, Ticketmaster has been listing prices at a seemingly low cost, only to add on mandatory fees at checkout that, in some cases, have raised the price by 30% or more.
The FTC also alleges that it is in Ticketmaster’s financial interest to turn a blind eye to illegal resale activity because it profits directly from fees and markups when the tickets are resold on its platform. They also accuse Ticketmaster of failing to use better tools to crack down on this because it would hurt their revenue.
In a statement, FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson commented: “It should not cost an arm and a leg to take the family to a baseball game, or attend your favourite musician’s show. The Trump-Vance FTC is working hard to ensure that fans have a shot at buying fair-priced tickets, and today’s lawsuit is a monumental step in that direction.”
The FTC had been in talks with Ticketmaster, but little progress was made. In March, Donald Trump signed an executive order that instructed the agency to enforce the BOTS Act.
Live Nation, meanwhile, claims to support the crackdown, issuing a statement in March, shortly after Trump signed the executive order, saying they welcomed “any meaningful resale reforms — including more enforcement of the BOTS act, caps on resale prices, and more.”
Separately, the US Department of Justice filed its own lawsuit against Live Nation last year, accusing it of breaking the law to maintain a monopoly in live music. Live Nation currently controls over 80% of all major concert venues’ ticket sales after the 2010 merger of US-based events promoter Live Nation and ticket sales and distribution company Ticketmaster. The suit claimed Live Nation had deliberately hamstrung competitors, leading to a rise in ticket prices while offering subpar customer service.
At the time of the lawsuit, then Attorney General Merrick Garland urged the courts to end Live Nation’s monopoly and break up the company.
