agency accuses ticketmaster of misleading ticket pricing strategies in legal action
In a significant move towards achieving fair-priced tickets for fans, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and seven states have filed a lawsuit against Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation. The lawsuit alleges that the ticketing giant has been using deceptive tactics in ticket resale, according to FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson.
The lawsuit claims that Ticketmaster has been deceiving consumers about the true cost of a ticket by not listing mandatory fees in advertisements. These fees, which can be as high as 44% of the cost of the ticket, according to the FTC, don't show up until the very end of the transaction.
The FTC further alleges that Ticketmaster has been collaborating with ticket scalpers (brokers) in general to allow resale above purchase limits and at inflated prices. Just five brokers, according to the FTC, had over 6,000 Ticketmaster accounts holding over 240,000 tickets to more than 2,500 events.
Ticketmaster is also accused of offering tech support to brokers through software called TradeDesk. This software, the FTC claims, helps brokers track and aggregate purchases from multiple accounts, thus enabling them to buy millions of dollars worth of tickets for resale at higher costs.
From 2019 to 2024, consumers spent $82.6 billion buying tickets from Ticketmaster, controlling about 80% of the primary ticketing for major concert venues. The fees totaled $16.4 billion from 2019 to 2025, according to the FTC.
The FTC's aggressive posture against Ticketmaster has been in the works since Joe Biden's presidency. However, the current leadership at the FTC wants to give credit to Donald Trump for the most recent move against Ticketmaster. In March of 2020, President Trump issued an Executive Order to protect Americans from being overcharged when buying tickets to live events. The Trump-Vance FTC is working to ensure fair-priced tickets for fans.
Ticketmaster did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the lawsuit. This article will be updated if Ticketmaster responds to the request for comment.
According to Ferguson, American live entertainment should be accessible to all and not excessively expensive. The lawsuit against Ticketmaster is a significant step in achieving this goal.
