Ticketmaster
Ticket seller for live events; subsidiary of Live Nation Entertainment
- Entries
- 21
- On the record
- 12
- Stories
- 2
- Latest entry
- Sep 2026
The record
The Ticketmaster lawsuit most people mean is the antitrust case the United States Department of Justice and dozens of states filed against Ticketmaster and its parent, Live Nation Entertainment, in federal court in Manhattan in May 2024. It accused the companies of monopolizing live events, in part by pushing venues into long-term exclusive Ticketmaster contracts under threat of losing Live Nation concerts. The trial began March 2, 2026, and the federal government settled days later. On April 15, 2026 a jury sided with the states that kept going: it found Ticketmaster unlawfully maintains a monopoly in ticketing for major concert venues, and the Associated Press reported that jurors put the overcharge at $1.72 per ticket for fans in 22 states. Live Nation said the verdict was not the last word and has asked the judge to overturn it.
The federal settlement, filed as a proposed final judgment on June 12, 2026, would require Ticketmaster to build technology letting major concert venues that use its back-end software sell primary tickets through rival marketplaces, cap its service fees at 15% of face value at Live Nation amphitheaters, and work under a monitor. Six states signed on. It takes effect only if the judge finds it in the public interest, and the remedies the other states seek, which under the complaint include a sale of Ticketmaster, wait on rulings on Live Nation's post-trial motions; both were pending at the company's November 5, 2026 quarterly report. A separate consumer antitrust class action, Heckman v. Live Nation, was certified in December 2025 after the Ninth Circuit refused to send it to Ticketmaster's mass-arbitration provider.
The Federal Trade Commission and seven states sued in September 2025, alleging Ticketmaster advertised prices that left out fees of up to 44% of the ticket and let brokers evade ticket limits while it profited from resale markups. A judge denied the companies' motion to dismiss in September 2026; Live Nation says it will defend itself. In May 2024 Live Nation disclosed unauthorized access to a cloud database holding mostly Ticketmaster data, and those suits now sit in a multidistrict case in Montana whose court page lists no Ticketmaster settlement. The November 2022 presale for Taylor Swift's Eras Tour led to a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing at which Live Nation's president blamed record bot traffic and apologized to fans and to Ms. Swift.
Questions people ask
What is in the Ticketmaster settlement with the Justice Department?
Made public on March 9, 2026, it provides injunctive and structural relief on all of the United States' claims and initially set up a $280 million fund for the plaintiff states' damages and civil-penalty claims; six states later settled for shares totaling about $18.6 million. It takes final effect only if the judge approves it under the Tunney Act. source
What did the jury decide in the Ticketmaster trial?
On April 15, 2026, after a five-week trial, the jury found that Ticketmaster unlawfully maintains a monopoly in ticketing services at major concert venues, that Live Nation has a monopoly in large amphitheaters and unlawfully requires artists who use them to take its promotion services, and that fans were overcharged for concert tickets at major venues. source
Why is the FTC suing Ticketmaster?
The FTC alleges bait-and-switch pricing, with mandatory fees as high as 44% of the ticket added late in checkout, and claims of strict ticket limits that brokers routinely exceeded using thousands of accounts. It says fees totaled $16.4 billion from 2019 to 2024 and seeks civil penalties under the FTC Act and the Better Online Ticket Sales Act. source
Is there a Ticketmaster data breach settlement?
The breach suits are part of In re Snowflake, Inc., Data Security Breach Litigation, MDL No. 3126, before Chief Judge Brian Morris in Montana, which lists Ticketmaster LLC and Live Nation Entertainment as defendants. The court's case page lists class settlements by Advance Auto Parts and Neiman Marcus, but none by Ticketmaster. source
Roles and honours on the record
- 2010 Merged with Live Nation, Inc. under a Justice Department consent decree source
- 2010-2025 Bound with Live Nation by the merger decree, extended in 2020 through December 31, 2025 source
- as of 2025 Leading concert ticket seller; the FTC says it controls about 80% or more of primary ticketing at major concert venues source
- 2024-2026 Co-defendant, United States et al. v. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. and Ticketmaster L.L.C., No. 1:24-cv-3973 (S.D.N.Y.) source
- 2025-2026 Defendant, FTC and seven states' pricing and resale suit, Central District of California source
- 2024-2026 Defendant, Snowflake data breach multidistrict litigation, MDL No. 3126 (D. Mont.) source
Every entry, newest first
- Filed
FTC and seven states sued over alleged resale tactics and fee disclosure, per Reuters. Live Nation, Ticketmaster: jury finds $1.72 ticket overcharge
- Ruled
Judge George Wu refused to compel mass arbitration of consumer ticket-price claims, per Reuters. Live Nation, Ticketmaster: jury finds $1.72 ticket overcharge
- Ruled
Billboard reported Ticketmaster Canada and related companies would pay $4.5M under a Competition Bureau consent agreement. Biggest Ticketmaster fee settlements: $400M tentative credit
- Reported
WSJ reported a tentative settlement offering roughly $400M in credit to 50 million buyers over processing fee claims. Biggest Ticketmaster fee settlements: $400M tentative credit
- Ruled
Settled rewards-program class action for up to $23 million; defendants admitted no wrongdoing, per the Associated Press. Live Nation, Ticketmaster: jury finds $1.72 ticket overcharge
Stories in this file
Business ยท ๐ธ Biggest Ticketmaster fee settlements: $400M tentative credit
WSJ reported a tentative $400M credit for 50M buyers; a Buffalo News column put the voucher pot at $10M. Cash deals run far smaller. โณ
Business ยท โ๏ธ Live Nation, Ticketmaster: jury finds $1.72 ticket overcharge
Live Nation says the award covers about 20% of tickets and will appeal. Damages and remedies are still for the judge to set. โณ
The record, entry by entry
- 2010-01-25 Official The Justice Department and 17 state attorneys general filed suit over the Ticketmaster-Live Nation merger together with a settlement letting it proceed if the merged firm licensed Ticketmaster's host software to AEG, divested Paciolan and accepted behavioral limits. Federal Register notice of the proposed final judgment, United States v. Ticketmaster Entertainment (D.D.C.)
- 2010-07-30 Ruled The federal court in Washington entered the final judgment allowing the merger to proceed subject to those conditions. Federal Register, amended complaint and competitive impact statement in United States v. Live Nation (2026)
- 2019-06-27 Official Ticketmaster L.L.C., TNow Entertainment Group and Ticketmaster Canada agreed to pay a $4 million penalty and $500,000 in costs, in Canadian dollars, to end a Competition Bureau case. The Bureau had concluded that mandatory fees added late in checkout often raised advertised prices by more than 20%. Competition Bureau Canada news release
- 2019-12 Official Live Nation agreed with the Justice Department to extend the merger decree by five and a half years. The amended terms bar conditioning Live Nation concerts on a venue choosing Ticketmaster or retaliating when a venue picks another ticketer, add an independent monitor and set an automatic $1 million penalty per violation. Live Nation annual report on Form 10-K for 2019
- 2022-01 Filed Ticket buyers filed Heckman v. Live Nation Entertainment, a proposed antitrust class action in the Central District of California over Ticketmaster's ticketing practices. Live Nation quarterly report on Form 10-Q, third quarter 2026
- 2023-01-24 Official At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing held after the November 2022 Eras Tour presale, Live Nation president Joe Berchtold testified that Ticketmaster was hit with three times the bot traffic it had ever seen, forcing it to slow and pause sales. He apologized to fans and to Taylor Swift. Senate Hearing 118-31 transcript, "That's the Ticket"
- 2023-12 Reported A fan who filed a proposed class action in December 2022 accusing Live Nation and Ticketmaster of misleading fans during the Eras Tour presale asked a federal judge to dismiss her case. It was not disclosed whether a settlement was reached. TicketNews report
- 2024-05-23 Filed New York, the Justice Department and a bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general sued Live Nation and Ticketmaster in the Southern District of New York, alleging Live Nation forces venues into long-term exclusive Ticketmaster contracts or risk losing its concerts. New York put Ticketmaster's share of the ticketing industry at nearly 80 percent. New York Attorney General press release
- 2024-05-31 Official Live Nation disclosed that on May 20 it found unauthorized activity in a third-party cloud database holding company data, mainly from Ticketmaster, and that on May 27 a criminal actor offered alleged user data for sale on the dark web. Live Nation current report on Form 8-K
- 2024-10 Official Data breach suits over the Snowflake cloud platform were centralized before Chief Judge Brian Morris in Montana; the court lists Ticketmaster LLC and Live Nation Entertainment among the defendants. U.S. District Court for the District of Montana, MDL 3126 case page
- 2024-10-28 Ruled The Ninth Circuit affirmed the refusal to compel arbitration in Heckman. Ticketmaster's terms had sent claims to New Era ADR, a newly created provider using novel mass-arbitration procedures. Ninth Circuit opinion, Heckman v. Live Nation Entertainment, No. 23-55770
- 2025-09-18 Filed The FTC and seven states sued Live Nation and Ticketmaster, alleging hidden fees, unenforced ticket limits and resale of broker-harvested tickets. The FTC said an internal review found five brokers controlling 6,345 Ticketmaster accounts and 246,407 tickets. Federal Trade Commission press release
- 2025-12 Ruled The court in Heckman certified a consumer class. Live Nation says it has substantial defenses. Live Nation annual report on Form 10-K for 2025
- 2026-04-15 Ruled A federal jury in Manhattan found Ticketmaster's practices led fans in 22 states to pay an extra $1.72 per ticket. Live Nation said the figure applies to tickets at 257 venues, about 20% of its sales, and put single damages below $150 million before trebling. Associated Press report, via WTOP
- 2026-06-12 Official The proposed federal judgment would let promoters and artists at Live Nation amphitheaters sell up to half of the fee-bearing tickets through other sellers without Ticketmaster fees, and cap Ticketmaster's own fees there at 15% of face value. Federal Register notice of the proposed final judgment, United States v. Live Nation
- 2026-09 Ruled The court denied Live Nation and Ticketmaster's motion to dismiss the FTC case. The company says it does not believe a loss is probable and will vigorously defend itself. Live Nation quarterly report on Form 10-Q, third quarter 2026
Documents
- Complaint, United States et al. v. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. and Ticketmaster L.L.C., No. 1:24-cv-3973 (S.D.N.Y., May 23, 2024)
- Ninth Circuit opinion, Heckman v. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc., No. 23-55770 (Oct. 28, 2024)
- Proposed final judgment and competitive impact statement, United States v. Live Nation (Federal Register, July 6, 2026)
- FTC press release on its suit against Live Nation and Ticketmaster (Sept. 18, 2025)
- New York Attorney General release on the states' trial verdict (Apr. 15, 2026)
- Senate Judiciary Committee hearing record, S. Hrg. 118-31 (Jan. 24, 2023)
- Live Nation Form 8-K on the 2024 database incident
- Competition Bureau Canada release on the 2019 Ticketmaster settlement