Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation, face serious accusations of the Federal Commerce Commission (FTC) for alleged illegal practices in the burst of tickets.
In A demand presented last Thursday at the United States District Court for the Central District of California, The FTC accused the two companies to facilitate the resellers to acquire tickets and resell them at inflated priceswhich has cost billions of dollars to consumers.
The FTC argues that the practices of Ticketmaster and Live Nation not only include the resale of tickets, but also use deceptive tactics in pricing. According to the complaint, Companies announced lower prices than they were really availablewhich confused buyers.
In addition, it is stated that, despite the limits established by artists about the number of entries that the resellers can acquire, Ticketmaster and Live Nation sold millions of tickets to these intermediaries at considerably higher prices.
In its statement, the FTC emphasizes that while Publicly Ticketmaster has affirmed that its business model is against the resellers who exceed ticket limits, privately The company has recognized that it benefits economically from these practices. The complaint indicates that resellers allow common consumers to not access entries at the prices established by artists, which highlights a clear contradiction in their discourse and commercial practices.
The demand, which also includes general prosecutors of Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Nebraska, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia, focuses on the violations of the Improved Input Sales Law and other laws that prohibit deceptive sales tactics.
The FTC remembers that, between 2019 and 2024, Consumers spent almost $ 83 billion in tickets through Ticketmasterwhich highlights the domain of the platform, which controls at least 80% of ticket sales in the main events of events in the United States.
“It should not cost an eye of the face to take the family to a baseball game or attend your favorite musician’s concert,” said Andrew N. Ferguson, president of the FTC, in a statement.
It should be noted that in May of this year, The Department of Justice also filed a Federal Demand accusing Live Nation of illegally monopolizing the live entertainment industry. This legal action reinforces the accusations against the company, which was acquired Ticketmaster in 2009, and indicates the consequences that these practices have for the average consumer.
In this context, the authorities seek a solution to stop these practices that, according to the FTC, are harmful to consumers and threaten fair competition in the entries for events.
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