SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — The Utah Attorney General announced today that Utah is part of a lawsuit filed against Live Nation and its subsidiary Ticketmaster for “deceptive claims regarding ticket prices” and violating the Better Online Ticket Sales Act.
The lawsuit is a joint filing by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the states of Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Nebraska, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia.
In 2024, the Department of Justice sued Ticketmaster and Live Nation for having an “illegal monopoly” on ticket sales.” Last month, the FTC filed a lawsuit against a Maryland-based ticket broker for exceeding purchasing limits and reselling tickets purchased through Ticketmaster.
“Anyone who has ever tried buying concert tickets, only to get hit with a pile of sneaky fees at the checkout, or perhaps even find out the show is actually ‘sold out,’ knows how frustrating it is to buy tickets with Ticketmaster or Live Nation. Today, Utah says ‘no more.’ It is all too common for fans to get funneled to shady ticket brokers who charge jaw-dropping prices—way beyond what artists ever intended. Ticketmaster’s game of bait-and-switch, cozying up with unscrupulous scalpers, inflates costs and leaves fans frustrated,” Utah Attorney General Derek Brown is quoted in a press release about the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges that Ticketmaster has “displayed deceptively low ticket prices to consumers and charged much more.” It argues that Live Nation and Ticketmaster have used fees and a “bait and switch” approach to misrepresent ticket prices and make “massive profits.”
According to the lawsuit, the average percentage of fees charged on ticket purchases ranges from 24% to 44% of the total price. From 2019 to 2024, over $16.4 billion was paid in mandatory fees, the lawsuit claims. It further states that fee information is not openly displayed to those purchasing tickets.
“Ticketmaster’s President, himself, has acknowledged that the company’s tactics
result in ‘sticker shock’ when consumers finally see the actual price of their tickets,” the lawsuit reads. It also notes that for “highly sought-after events,” consumers risk losing the chance to get tickets if they don’t want to complete the transaction after seeing the actual price.
Another allegation brought forth in the lawsuit is that Live Nation and Ticketmaster “allow brokers to circumvent” ticket limits and purchasing rules. The lawsuit claims that Ticketmaster could stop brokers from using fake or puppet accounts to purchase large numbers of tickets to resell, but that they have not done that and choose to profit from these brokers.
“Defendants have publicly acknowledged that proxy service tools that mask a user’s true IP address and location are among a list of technologies that, among others, violate the Better Online Ticket Sales Act ‘when used for their intended purposes,'” the lawsuit alleges. “…A Ticketmaster engineer pointed out to a Ticketmaster executive that the company
routinely chooses to turn a blind eye to broker circumvention of ticket limits.”
The Better Online Ticket Sales Act was created to prevent mass purchasing of tickets by brokers or bots. It reads, “it shall be unlawful for any person to circumvent a security measure, access control system, or other technological control or measure on an Internet website or online service that is used by the ticket issuer to enforce posted event ticket purchasing limits or to maintain the integrity of posted online ticket purchasing order rules.”
The FTC and seven states joining the lawsuit are asking the judge to enter a permanent injunction that will prevent Live Nation and Ticketmaster from violating the Better Online Ticket Sales Act and local consumer protection acts. The lawsuit is also seeking to award monetary relief and impose civil penalties.
ABC4 has contacted Live Nation and Ticketmaster for a statement on the lawsuit, but has yet to hear back.
“Today, Utah is stepping up, cracking down on these deceptive tactics, to make sure everyone can get seats to their favorite shows without being victimized,” AG Brown stated in the press release.
Director Matt Reeves has revealed the full cast for The Batman Part II, confirming several…
Looking for a powerful ebike with the speed and range to meet your ambitious needs?…
Marathon is attempting to broaden its playerbase with new offerings, such as a PVE-only mode.…
A Russian state-sponsored hacking group known as Sandworm has been caught making a calculated pivot…
A Chinese state-linked hacking group known as FamousSparrow has quietly infiltrated an Azerbaijani oil and…
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (WOWO) — Richard Allen’s attorneys will get their day in court as they…
This website uses cookies.