Ticketmaster
Ticketmaster Entertainment, LLC is an American ticket sales and distribution company based in Beverly Hills, California with operations in many countries around the world. In 2010, it merged with Live Nation under the name Live Nation Entertainment.[2]
Company type
October 2, 1976, in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
- Albert Leffler
- Peter Gadwa
- Gordon Gunn III
- Jerry Nelson
Worldwide
- Michael Rapino (CEO)
- Mark Yovich (president)
- Ticketing technology
- Ticket sales
- Ticket resales
- Marketing
- Distribution of event tickets and information
- Support of venue renovation
$11.9 billion in 2019[1]
6,678
Live Nation Entertainment (2010–present)
The company's ticket sales are fulfilled digitally or at its two main fulfillment centers located in Charleston, West Virginia, and Pharr, Texas for both primary and secondary markets. Ticketmaster's clients include venues, artists and promoters. Clients control their events and set ticket prices, and Ticketmaster sells tickets that the clients make available to them. Ticketmaster also owns and operates TicketWeb, a ticketing website geared towards independent venues.
Ticketmaster is subject to numerous controversies and lawsuits, alleging violations of various laws. The platform charges a fee on tickets purchased and resold on the platform. The fees from ticket sales can account for a large percentage of overall ticket costs and have received scrutiny from regulators, customers, and musicians. The company has also faced scrutiny from the United States Department of Justice for retaliation against venues violating its 2010 10-year consent decree from the Live Nation merger, which has been extended an additional five years from 2020 through 2025.
Following the widespread criticism of the company's handling of the pre-sale of Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour in November 2022, the Department of Justice began a formal investigation into Live Nation Entertainment on the grounds of monopoly, antitrust law and consumer rights violations. The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee examined the merger with a hearing in January 2023. In April 2024, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Justice Department planned to file an antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation.[3]
Criticism and controversies[edit]
Anti-competition claims[edit]
In May 1994, the grunge band Pearl Jam filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice claiming Ticketmaster had cut the group out of venue bookings in a dispute over fees.[48] The investigation was closed without action in 1995, though the Justice Department stated it would continue to monitor the developments in the ticket industry.[49][50] Chuck Philips, a reporter who covered the issue,[51][52][53][54] was told by sources close to the case that the investigation was closed due to a combination of a shortage of resources and the case being difficult and having uncertain prospects.[49]
In a 2009 article by the CBC, Ticketmaster argued that legislation was needed in Ontario to protect fans from scalpers and unauthorized ticket brokers saying, "You and I both know there is a thriving ticket-broker industry ... so the law is really a fiction ... We very strongly feel the law needs to be modernized to reflect the reality of internet commerce. By keeping a price cap in place, you're really just driving the [resale] business into the shadows."[55] That same year, musician Bruce Springsteen complained of a conflict of interest between Ticketmaster and TicketsNow after fans were directed to TicketsNow once tickets to his concert sold out on Ticketmaster.com. Irving Azoff, Ticketmaster CEO at the time, released an apology and stated that the TicketsNow link would no longer be shown for Springsteen's concerts.[56][57] In 2018, the United States Department of Justice began reviewing complaints by AEG that claimed the company had engaged in anti-competitive practices. As of April 2018, the Department of Justice had not released comments on its investigation.[58]
In 2020, the Department of Justice fined Ticketmaster $3 million for violating a consent decree resulting from the Live Nation merger. The consent decree is extended through 2025 and is required to enforce its own compliance with the decree with a penalty of $1 million for any future violations.[24]
Rewards program monthly fees[edit]
In May 2013, Ticketmaster agreed to pay up to $23 million for enrolling customers into a rewards program that charged $9 per month. Ticketmaster made $85 million in fees, from customers who took about eight months on average to cancel their enrollment in the program. 1.12 million customers were eligible to claim up to a $30 refund.[59]
Secret partnership with scalpers[edit]
Ticketmaster secretly partners with scalpers to drive up prices for consumers.[60] Economists characterize the secondary market in tickets as socially wasteful rent-seeking.[61][62] In the mid-2000s, Ticketmaster engaged in primary market auctions that reduced the rents involved in secondary market scalping – however, Ticketmaster ended these primary market auctions, opting instead to enter into the secondary market.[62]
In September 2018, the Toronto Star reported that Ticketmaster was not enforcing ticket limit rules on its resale platform, TradeDesk.[63] Ticketmaster denied the allegations, saying it would examine its resale policies on TradeDesk, and that it "never allows ticket scalpers to buy tickets ahead of fans."[64] One month later, a group of customers filed a class action lawsuit against Ticketmaster.[65]
In July 2019, a report by Billboard revealed a strategy by Live Nation, Ticketmaster's parent company, to secretly bypass placing certain tickets for sale on the primary market and instead, place them directly on resale sites "without giving fans a chance to buy them through normal channels at face value."[66] The company acknowledged it has "facilitated the quiet transfer of concert tickets directly into the hands of resellers through the years, though only at the request of the artists involved."
Data breach[edit]
In June 2018, Ticketmaster notified 40,000 U.K. customers that it had identified a hack caused by malicious software on a third-party customer support product it contracted. The company stated that customers who bought tickets between February and June 2018 may have had data compromised.[67][68][69][70][71][72][73]
Deceptive pricing[edit]
A class action lawsuit was filed against Ticketmaster in 2003, alleging that it did not fully disclose UPS and order processing fees added to tickets sold online. The case settlement was approved in 2015 and Ticketmaster issued vouchers and discount codes to fans who purchased tickets online between 1999 and 2013.[74][75] In a related case, Ticketmaster filed suit against its liability insurance carrier, Illinois Union Insurance Company, a subsidiary of ACE Limited, in 2010 for failing to aid in its defense in the 2003 suit.[76]
In June 2019, Canada's Competition Bureau fined Ticketmaster $4.5 million dollars ($3.44 million US dollars) as part of a settlement after it was discovered that Ticketmaster "topped advertised costs by more than 20% -- and sometimes as much as 65%." In addition to the required payment, Ticketmaster signed a consent agreement to ensure its advertising policies abide by Canadian law.[77]
Competitor computer hacking[edit]
In December 2020, Ticketmaster "entered into a plea agreement with federal prosecutors" and agreed to pay a $10 million fine after being charged with illegally accessing computer systems of a competitor.[78] According to FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Williams Sweeney, "Ticketmaster used stolen information to gain an advantage over its competition, and then promoted the employees who broke the law."[79] The allegations were first reported in 2017 when a former CrowdSurge top executive hired by Ticketmaster hacked into his former employer's database.[80]
Dynamic pricing and "platinum" tickets[edit]
Ticketmaster and Live Nation has faced backlash for their dynamic pricing system and "platinum" tickets when tickets for Bruce Springsteen's and Blink-182's 2023 tours went on sale in July and October 2022 respectively, which saw fans of both acts criticize prices for random seats across the venue going for hundreds or thousands of dollars during pre-sales or right when tickets went on sale for the general public.[81][82] In March 2023, Robert Smith criticized the model and announced that the Cure would not be allowing Ticketmaster to sell dynamically-priced or platinum tickets for the band's upcoming North American tour.[83] Smith priced tickets for the Cure's concerts for as low as $20, but Ticketmaster charged fees that equalled more than the price of the base ticket. After Smith expressed his outrage, Ticketmaster refunded a portion of the fees to the purchasers.[84]
Partners[edit]
Ticketmaster has partnerships with venues, professional sports leagues and teams, college and universities, musical acts and theatre tours[122][123][124] and target corporation in the United States and internationally.[125] Ticketmaster has partnered with musical acts such as Taylor Swift,[126] and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra,[127] and theatre productions such as Hamilton and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.[122][128]
Ticketmaster has been the ticketing provider for the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Basketball Association (NBA).[129][130][131] In 2008, Ticketmaster entered into an agreement with the National Football League (NFL) to manage its resale market on NFL TicketExchange.[132] Ticketmaster also works with wrestling promotions World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) (1994) and All Elite Wrestling (AEW) (2019)
In 2017, Ticketmaster announced it would open the TicketExchange platform to allow the sale and validation of tickets on third-party websites, including StubHub.[132] Ticketmaster has also partnered with the United States Tennis Association,[133] Tennis Canada,[134] and the PGA Tour.[135]