FTC Sues Ticketmaster and Live Nation Over Alleged Collusion with Ticket Brokers

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), along with attorneys general from seven states, has filed a lawsuit against Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation Entertainment, alleging that the companies collaborated with ticket brokers to inflate resale prices, leading consumers to pay significantly more for event tickets. The lawsuit claims that Ticketmaster allowed brokers to bypass ticket purchase limits, enabling them to acquire large quantities of tickets and resell them at higher prices on Ticketmaster's own platform. This practice allegedly allowed Ticketmaster to collect fees at multiple stages: during the initial sale, the resale listing, and the final purchase by consumers.

FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson stated, "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."

The lawsuit also accuses Ticketmaster of deceptive pricing practices, including advertising lower ticket prices and adding substantial fees only at the final stages of the purchase process. These fees reportedly accounted for up to 44% of the ticket's cost, totaling $16.4 billion from 2019 to 2024.

The FTC alleges that Ticketmaster's actions violate both the FTC Act and the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act, which prohibits the use of automated methods to circumvent ticket purchase limits. The agency is seeking civil penalties and other monetary relief.

Live Nation and Ticketmaster have not yet responded to the allegations.

This legal action follows previous scrutiny over Ticketmaster’s handling of high-demand events and adds to ongoing antitrust concerns, including a separate 2024 Department of Justice lawsuit seeking to break up Live Nation and Ticketmaster.