If you have grievances regarding Ticketmaster, now is your chance to voice them. The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are encouraging the public to share insights on detrimental practices within the live ticketing sector as part of their initiative to expose “unfair and anticompetitive” practices in the industry.
In March, former President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at tackling unfair ticketing practices, including the use of bots by scalpers to purchase large quantities of tickets. He instructed the FTC and DOJ to enforce antitrust laws and prepare a report on their findings within six months. The feedback from the public will play a crucial role in shaping the agencies’ recommendations.
Ticketmaster has faced intensified regulatory scrutiny following a significant site crash during the sale of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour tickets in November 2022, which ignited anger among fans and even drew criticism from Swift herself. Last year, the DOJ launched an antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster and its parent company, LiveNation, alleging that their monopoly leads to inflated ticket prices for consumers.
“We will persist in our thorough examination of this market and seek opportunities for aggressive enforcement of antitrust laws that foster greater competition, ultimately resulting in more affordable tickets for fans and fairer compensation for artists,” stated Abigail Slater, the assistant attorney general of the DOJ’s antitrust division, in a press release.
