The ticket provider is accused of unfair practices.
The US competitive authority FTC has submitted a lawsuit against Live Nation and its subsidiary Ticketmaster together with seven states. According to the lawsuit submitted in California on Thursday (September 18), the companies are said to have worked together with ticket brokers in the second market and thus enabled excessive resale prices.
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Specifically, the two groups are accused of making it easier for ticket scales to have access to tickets far beyond the actually specified purchase restrictions. Tickets have been resold at massively excessive prices – a procedure that, according to FTC, disadvantages consumers and artists alike.
Wrong presentation of ticket prices?
In addition, the lawsuit Ticketmaster and Live Nation accuses a misleading pricing in the USA. “The defendants have achieved enormous profits by incorrectly portraying the actual ticket price. Consumers pay billions of dollars of obligatory fees every year that are not included in the price,” says industry magazine “Variety” in the appeal. Ticketmaster has publicly promised all-inclusive prices, but in fact this was not implemented.
The corporations are also said to have benefited several times during resale. According to the FTC, Ticketmaster and Live Nation would be able to collect three times when tickets resale. Fees when buying by broker, the offer in their own second market and finally fans who acquire the tickets there would be incurred. “This is not only bad business behavior; it is deception and abuse of monopoly power,” said the indictment.
Ticketmaster sues: Companies have been criticized for a long time
US industry associations welcome the lawsuit. You have been accusing ticketmaster of unfair practices for years. “Live nation and ticketmaster abuse their market dominance not only at the concert business and in the primary market, but also in resale,” said Steven Parker, managing director of the National Independent Venue Association, according to “Variety”.
The national independent talent organization also praised the procedure. “Without responding to the specific allegations, Nito welcomes the efforts of the FTC to reform an unfair ticketing system. Change is needed to take excessive fees, the availability of tickets at fair prices and the interests of artists and fans.” In its lawsuit, the competition authority relies on the so -called bots act. This prohibits the mass use of automated systems when buying a ticket.