The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued Live Nation and Ticketmaster for allegedly colluding with scalpers to inflate ticket prices. The FTC claims Ticketmaster violated the FTC Act and the Better Online Ticket Sales Act by providing tech support to brokers, enabling them to circumvent ticket limits and amass tickets for resale at exorbitant prices. This resulted in billions of dollars in losses for consumers. Ticketmaster's alleged 'triple dip' fee structure, maximizing profits from initial sales and secondary market transactions, is also under scrutiny. The lawsuit alleges that Ticketmaster prioritized profit over fair pricing and transparency, even ignoring internal warnings about abusive practices. Seven states joined the lawsuit seeking additional penalties.

Prepared by Christopher Adams and reviewed by editorial team.