Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation Entertainment, have long been the target of ire from musicians and concertgoers alike due to their use of hidden fees and the prevalence of ticket scalpers on their platforms. Last year, under President Joe Biden, the United States Justice Department sued Live Nation, alleging that the company holds a monopoly in the concert market. Now, the Federal Trade Commission and seven states are filing suit against the concert giant for allegedly violating the FTC Act and the Better Online Ticket Sales Act by knowingly collaborating with secondary market brokers to spike ticket prices.

The FTC’s lawsuit, filed this morning (Thursday, September 18) in a California court, alleges that Live Nation has falsely claimed to place caps on the number of tickets an individual can purchase for an event, while resellers are able to circumvent those limits by creating “thousands” of Ticketmaster accounts. A software platform called TradeDesk, also owned by Live Nation, then allows brokers to track tickets across multiple accounts simultaneously, allowing for easier resale.

According to internal emails reportedly obtained by the FTC, Ticketmaster and Live Nation are able to identify which brokers are exceeding the posted ticket limit for a given event, but have instead opted to, in the alleged words of a senior executive, “turn a blind eye as a matter of policy.” Allegedly, the companies also declined to implement technology, such as third-party verification, that would prevent mass ticket scalping for being, according to one email cited in the lawsuit, “too effective.”

“American live entertainment is the best in the world and should be accessible to all of us,” FTC chairman Andrew N. Ferguson said in a statement. “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 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.”

A statement to Pitchfork from the National Independent Talent Organization (NITO) added: “Without commenting on the specific charges, NITO applauds the Federal Trade Commission’s efforts to reform an unfair ticketing ecosystem that too often does not serve consumers or artists. Changes are needed that address excessive fees, availability of tickets for fans at fair prices and keeping the process aligned with artists interests that benefit their fans.”

In addition, Stephen Parker, executive director of the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) told Pitchfork:

Today’s lawsuit has given credibility to what fans, artists, and independent stages have believed for years: Live Nation and Ticketmaster exploit their dominance not just in concert promotion and primary ticketing, but in the resale market as well. The FTC and seven states now allege that the same company that controls nearly 80% of major concert ticketing has been enabling scalpers to game Ticketmaster’s system, reselling tickets back to fans at massive markups.

This is not just bad business; it is deception and abuse of monopoly power. By turning a blind eye to scalpers, even giving them the tools to bypass limits and harvest tickets, Live Nation has acted as the promoter, the primary ticket seller, the artists’ manager, and the scalper.

Independent venues and promoters are on the frontlines of this broken system, and it is fans and artists who ultimately pay the price. We applaud the FTC for bringing this case. It further bolsters the U.S. Department of Justice and 40 state attorneys general antitrust case against Live Nation.

We now urge Congress, the Administration, and state legislatures to stand with consumers by banning speculative tickets (tickets the scalper does not have), prohibiting deceptive resale sites, and capping resale prices and fees. Predatory resellers – including Live Nation itself – should no longer be allowed to gouge and deceive fans under the guise of access to live music.

Last year, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the the Transparency in Charges for Key Events Ticketing (TICKET) Act, which would require ticket sellers on the primary and secondary market to disclose total prices up front. StubHub was also sued by the Washington, D.C. attorney general in 2024 for engaging in “drip pricing,” wherein fees are incrementally added to a ticket’s cost throughout the checkout process. Ticketmaster is currently under investigation by the UK and European governments for its pricing of tickets to Oasis’ reunion shows.