America’s ticketing giant is once again in the crosshairs. The Federal Trade Commission, backed by seven states, has accused Live Nation and its powerful arm Ticketmaster of quietly siding with ticket brokers to bleed music fans dry.
According to the lawsuit, Ticketmaster — which already holds sway over about 80% of the primary ticketing business for major concert halls — routinely let resellers smash through artist-imposed limits on ticket purchases. The result: fans blocked from seats while brokers flipped tickets at steep markups, and Ticketmaster pocketed billions in resale fees. Between 2019 and 2024 alone, regulators say the company raked in $3.7 billion this way.
The allegations paint a picture of a system rigged from the inside. Internal emails cited by the FTC reveal that Live Nation and Ticketmaster allegedly “turned a blind eye as a matter of policy” to violations they knew were happening.
The lawsuit also slams Ticketmaster for disguising true ticket costs, hiding fees until the very last click. That, regulators say, broke consumer protection law.
The case lands at a moment when Ticketmaster is already reeling from public outrage over its disastrous handling of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour sale in 2022 — when a tidal wave of fan demand, bots, and brokers crashed its platform, forcing it to cancel public sales altogether.
This isn’t the first government strike against the entertainment heavyweight. Last year, the Justice Department sought to split up Live Nation and Ticketmaster entirely, accusing them of monopolizing the live music industry. Both companies continue to deny wrongdoing.
Shares of Live Nation slipped more than 2% after the lawsuit was announced. But for fans — the ones who camp online for hours, only to see tickets vanish into the hands of brokers — the bigger question is whether this case might finally change the rules of the game.
