The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and seven US states have sued Live Nation () and its subsidiary Ticketmaster for not curing the use of wide-scale tickets and resale operations.
The Consumer Protection Agency stated that the largest ticket sales platform in the country did not apply its own purchase limits, which allowed resellers to acquire large amounts of tickets for popular events, according to a court case presented on Thursday (18) in a Federal Court of California. The agency said Ticketmaster systematically ignored the ticket brokers that circumvented these limits, as the company profits from resellers.
“The company routinely chooses to close its eyes to violate the boundaries of the brokers,” the FTC said in the complaint. Ticketmaster’s illegal conduct and tacit coordination with brokers harm fans, who pay much more than the price advertised at both the box office and resale, being forced to pay inflated prices for high demand tickets.
Free class
Investment Course
Learn strategies to win your first million
Live Nation’s shares have fallen up to 3.5%, the largest intraordinary drop since May 29, and were down 1.3% at 11:39 in New York.
Live Nation did not commented immediately.
The FTC claimed that Ticketmaster can “triple” the fees as it makes money in the initial and also the buyer and the seller in the resellers. In the first sale, the rates range from 24% to 44%, making consumers pay $ 16 billion, much retained by the company.
Continues after advertising
In total, Ticketmaster raised $ 11 billion in rates on primary tickets and resold between 2019 and 2024, according to FTC.
The agency stated that Ticketmaster’s actions violated both the FTC law, which prohibits misleading conduct and the Bots Act online online sales law, passed in 2016 to prevent resale on a large scale by prohibiting bots use, or automated methods to circumvent purchases per person.
FTC intensified its inspection of ticket sales during the Trump administration, after the White House issued an executive order in March determining that the agency prioritized the application of Bots Act. The order requires a report on law compliance by the end of September.
Continues after advertising
Last month, the agency sued a Maryland ticket broker for violating bots Act when buying Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. The company denied irregularities, claiming that the FTC adopted an excessively broad interpretation of the law.
© 2025 Bloomberg L.P.
