If you’ve been harboring complaints about Ticketmaster, now’s the time to let it all out. The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission are inviting the public to submit comments about harmful practices in live ticketing as part of efforts to “identify unfair and anticompetitive” behavior in the industry.
In March, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to address unfair practices in the ticketing industry, such as scalpers using bots to buy up massive amounts of tickets. He directed the FTC and DOJ to enforce competition laws, as well as file a report about their progress within six months. The agencies plan to use the public comments to inform their recommendations.
Ticketmaster has been under closer regulatory scrutiny after its site crashed when Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour tickets went on sale in November 2022, sparking outrage among fans and even Swift herself. The DOJ filed an antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster and its parent company, LiveNation, last year, claiming their illegal monopoly results in higher ticket prices for consumers.
“We will continue to closely examine this market and look for opportunities where vigorous enforcement of the antitrust laws can lead to increased competition that makes tickets more affordable for fans while offering fairer compensation for artists,” Abigail Slater, the assistant attorney general of the DOJ’s antitrust division, said in the press release.
