FTC Takes Legal Action Against Ticketmaster for Alleged ‘Misleading’ Practices Leading to Higher Ticket Prices

(NEXSTAR) – The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and attorneys general from seven states are suing Ticketmaster and its parent company for allegedly profiting on fees while turning a blind eye to widespread, illegal resale tactics.

The complaint accuses California-based Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation, of duping artists and attendees with low advertised ticket prices and claims of strict ticket purchase limits, “even though ticket brokers routinely and substantially exceeded those limits.” Customers were then forced to buy the same tickets on Ticketmaster’s resale platform at a “much higher cost,” the suit says.

One internal review found that just five brokers were in control of 6,345 Ticketmaster accounts and had 246,407 concert tickets to 2,594 events, according to the FTC.

The lawsuit went on to allege that, between 2019 and 2024 Ticketmaster hid mandatory fees that were as high as 44% of the ticket’s cost “until the very end of the transaction, and still failed to clearly detail the extra fees before consumers paid of the tickets.” Those fees during that period totaled $16.4 billion, according to the FTC.

“American live entertainment is the best in the world and should be accessible to all of us,” said FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson in a news release. “It should not cost an arm and a leg to take the family to a baseball game or attend your favorite musician’s show.”

Joining the FTC in the lawsuit to enforce the Better Online Ticket Sales Act are attorneys general from Virginia, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Nebraska, Tennessee and Utah.

Ticketmaster has been in lawmakers’ sights since 2022, when it spectacularly botched ticket sales for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. The company’s site was overwhelmed by fans and attacks from brokers’ bots, which were scooping up tickets to sell on secondary sites. Senators grilled Live Nation in a 2023 hearing.

Ticketmaster’s dominance over the industry – the FTC says the company controls 80% of the primary ticket market for major concerts – and its practices have been targeted by both the Biden and Trump administrations.

In March, President Trump was joined by Kid Rock, wearing dark sunglasses and a red, white and blue suit, for the signing of an executive order to crack down on ticket overcharging. The order also directed the FTC to “take enforcement action to prevent unfair, deceptive, and anti-competitive conduct in the secondary ticketing market.”

In August, the FTC sued Maryland-based ticket broker Key Investment Group use, alleging it has used thousands of fictitious Ticketmaster accounts and other methods to buy tickets for events, including Swift’s tour.

Between 2019 and 2024, Americans spent over $82.6 billion on tickets from Ticketmaster, according to the FTC.

Nexstar reached out to Ticketmaster for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.