FTC Takes on Ticketmaster: Live Nation Sued Over Predatory Ticket Practices

The nightmare of buying concert tickets might finally be getting its reckoning. The Federal Trade Commission, joined by seven U.S. states, has filed a sweeping lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment and its subsidiary Ticketmaster, accusing the industry giants of running an elaborate, deceptive scheme that bleeds fans and undercuts artists.

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, reads like a catalog of every gripe fans have ever had with Ticketmaster. Hidden fees, bait-and-switch pricing, phony ticket limits, and an open door for scalpers are at the center of the case. According to the FTC, Ticketmaster deliberately allowed brokers to exceed purchase caps, then profited twice, once when the brokers scooped up tickets in bulk and again when those same tickets were resold on Ticketmaster’s own exchange platform at jacked-up prices. Between 2019 and 2024, this cycle generated a staggering $3.7 billion in resale fees.

It’s not just consumers who were left in the dark. The FTC alleges Ticketmaster routinely ignored or sabotaged the wishes of artists who set ticketing restrictions for their shows. By enabling brokers to overbuy and resell at inflated rates, Ticketmaster undermined the very contracts that were supposed to give performers control over their audiences and pricing. For an industry where live performance revenue has become the lifeline, that’s more than shady, it’s sabotage.

The lawsuit builds on momentum from an earlier Department of Justice antitrust case launched in 2024, which accused Live Nation of monopolistic control over live entertainment and called for a breakup of its empire. Taken together, the message is clear: regulators are finally ready to confront a company that controls more than 80% of U.S. ticketing for major venues.

For fans, this could be the start of long-overdue accountability. The experience of scrambling online for tickets, watching them sell out in seconds, then facing resale prices triple the original face value has become the norm, not the exception. The FTC’s move signals that the government sees these practices not as “just business” but as exploitation.

Of course, lawsuits don’t topple giants overnight. Live Nation and Ticketmaster are flush with resources and lawyers, and cases like this can drag out for years. Even if the FTC wins, the real test will be whether the outcome translates into systemic change: transparent pricing, enforceable ticket limits, and an end to platforms profiting off the very scalpers they claim to police.

For now, though, the walls are closing in. Fans have spent decades screaming about the unfairness of the system. Artists have quietly bristled at being strong-armed into Ticketmaster’s monopoly. Now the FTC has put those frustrations into legal language, accusing Live Nation of being less a service provider and more a rigged casino where the house always wins.

The case could redefine the future of live music, and maybe, just maybe, the days of feeling robbed before you even walk into a venue are numbered.