The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is stepping up to the plate by filing a lawsuit against Ticketmaster. They allege the company uses its monopoly power to extort consumers by charging exorbitant prices for tickets to concerts and other events. Thanks to the Biden administration’s push, ticketing companies are now required to include all fees in a ticket’s initial displayed price. This regulation took effect in May, leading to the present lawsuit.
As a subsidiary of Live Nation Entertainment Inc., Ticketmaster monopolizes the large majority of the U.S. ticketing market. It monopolizes over 80% of the primary ticket sales for all major concert venues. This 80% market share gives the company incredible power over the cost of and access to live entertainment. In that same time, between 2019 and 2024, consumers paid over $82.6 billion in ticket fees for tickets that they purchased on Ticketmaster.
The attorneys general from join the FTC’s lawsuit in support of the Commission’s position. The states joining the lawsuit are Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Nebraska, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia. The action is a continuation of longstanding bipartisan and bicameral concerns over Ticketmaster’s anti-consumer pricing strategies and excessive market power.
In the past few months, the self-driving car tech giant has come under fire from lawmakers and regulatory agencies alike. Through this enforcement action the FTC has taken a strong stand against predatory lenders like Key Investment Group. This MD-based ticket broker was accused of devising fake Ticketmaster accounts to manufacture ticket inventory. Separately, in a 2023 Senate hearing, U.S. Senators grilled executives from Live Nation over anti-competitive business practices.
President Donald Trump previously signed an executive order aimed at ensuring compliance with Internal Revenue Service rules among ticket resellers, including Ticketmaster. Despite this and other regulatory efforts, national reforms within the ticketing and event industry have been slow to come.
Andrew Ferguson also noted how vital accessibility is when it comes to live entertainment, saying that
“American live entertainment is the best in the world and should be accessible to all of us. It should not cost an arm and a leg to take the family to a baseball game or attend your favorite musician’s show.”
This lawsuit is just one aspect of Ticketmaster’s ongoing challenges, including a previous legal case related to Taylor Swift’s concert tour. Consumers and regulators alike are watching the company’s every move. Like middlemen and profiteers in other industries, they are calling for more transparency and fairness in ticket pricing.
