FTC sues Ticketmaster, Live Nation over alleged illegal ticket resale tactics and deceptive pricing

The Federal Trade Commission is suing Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation, over allegations of illegal and deceptive business practices that it says resulted in consumers paying “significantly more” than the face value of a ticket.

In a lawsuit filed in California District Court on Thursday, the FTC accuses the companies of multiple forms of illicit behavior. Seven other states — Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Nebraska, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia — joined the FTC’s suit.

The companies “tacitly” coordinated with ticket brokers — middlemen who buy tickets when they first go on sale — by profiting off the resold tickets in the secondary market, often at a substantial markup, the FTC wrote in a news release, which outlined details of the complaint.

The federal agency claims that Live Nation and Ticketmaster deceived both artists and consumers by allowing ticket brokers to “routinely and substantially” exceed posted limits on the number of tickets that consumers can purchase for an event, as well as limits demanded by artists.

It said “thousands of Ticketmaster accounts” have been owned by “a small handful of brokers who Defendants know or have reason to know routinely purchase tickets from Ticketmaster’s primary market in excess of Ticketmaster’s posted ticket limits.”

And the FTC alleges that for years, both companies have engaged in deceptive pricing by obfuscating fee amounts on its ticket-purchasing screen.

“American live entertainment is the best in the world and should be accessible to all of us,” FTC Commissioner Andrew 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 Live Nation spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Scrutiny of Ticketmaster and Live Nation reignited in 2022 after sales to Taylor Swift’s “Eras” Tour crashed its site, raising questions about the influence of automated purchasing software and coordinated-buying practices on its platform. The Justice Department under President Joe Biden sued the companies in 2024 for engaging in alleged monopolistic practices in violation of an earlier agreement.

In March, Trump issued an executive order designed to protect U.S. consumers from unfair ticketing practices. Earlier this week, Bloomberg News reported the FTC had opened a probe into Ticketmaster and Live Nation’s compliance with laws designed to prevent bot sales.

The probe had kicked off under former FTC Commissioner Lina Kahn’s tenure and had gained steam in recent months, Bloomberg reported. In a statement to Bloomberg at the time, a Live Nation spokesperson denied the allegations.

Last month, the FTC sued individuals running an enterprise it said was able to allegedly flood Ticketmaster with purchase requests and subsequently resell the tickets on the secondary market for millions. The group has denied any wrongdoing.