"The Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation, on Thursday, alleging that the company willingly misleads consumers about ticket prices and cooperates with scalpers to markup resale prices all at the expense of artists and music fans. Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Nebraska, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia are all plaintiffs in the FTC's complaints. "American live entertainment is the best in the world and should be accessible to all of us," said FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson 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 lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, accuses Ticketmaster and Live Nation the largest ticketing and live entertainment company in the country of participating in three main illegal practices. First, the FTC alleges that Ticketmaster engages in a "bait and switch approach," meaning they post ticket prices at deceptively low prices that then increase by 30% or more during checkout due to additional fees. The complaint alleges that Ticketmaster has "reaped massive profits by misrepresenting the total price of tickets to consumers, who pay billions of dollars each year in mandatory fees not reflected in the list price.""
"Although artists set prices and limits for how many tickets each user can buy in an attempt to make the process more accessible for fans, the FTC also alleges that Ticketmaster knowingly allows scalpers to exceed these limits. According to the lawsuit, "brokers" are able to purchase thousands of tickets to a single event and then resell them on Ticketmaster's secondary market for significantly higher prices. The FTC says this is possible because Ticketmaster and Live Nation "knowingly allow, and in fact even encourage, brokers to use multiple Ticketmaster accounts to circumvent Ticketmaster's own"
Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against Ticketmaster and Live Nation alleging deceptive pricing, cooperation with scalpers, and consumer harm. Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Nebraska, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia are plaintiffs. FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson said American live entertainment should be accessible and affordable for families. The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, accuses the companies of three illegal practices. The FTC alleges Ticketmaster posts deceptively low list prices that increase by 30% or more at checkout due to mandatory fees. The complaint also alleges Ticketmaster allows brokers to buy thousands of tickets, circumvent purchase limits, and resell them at much higher prices.
Read at www.npr.org
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