Seeks Damages from Ticket Companies on Behalf of Consumers Harmed by Their Practices
By Hank Russell
New York Attorney General Letitia James joined the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and 40 attorneys general on August 19 in filing an amended complaint against Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. (Live Nation) and its subsidiary Ticketmaster to seek additional relief for American consumers who she said were harmed by the companies’ high fees and practice. In addition, she is seeking disgorgement of “ill-gotten gains” — according to James — and civil penalties.
In May 2024, Attorney General James, DOJ, and a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general sued Live Nation and Ticketmaster for anticompetitive conduct. Live Nation is a live entertainment company that owns, operates, or has exclusive booking rights for hundreds of venues nationwide, including New York’s Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, Barclays Center, Nassau Coliseum and other venues across the state.
The lawsuit alleged that Live Nation controls many aspects of sports events and live performances, from producing and promoting events to renting venues they own and selling tickets through its subsidiary, Ticketmaster, which accounts for nearly 80 percent of the ticketing industry.
James said that, due to Live Nation’s wide-ranging control of various aspects of the live events industry, competitors have been forced out, leaving consumers, venues, and artists with limited options and forcing them to endure high costs.
According to the lawsuit, on top of the ticket price, the ticket buyers had to pay a series of fees, including “service” or “convenience fees”; “Platinum” fees; “VIP” fees; “per order” or “handling” fees; “payment processing” fees; “facility” fees; and/or any other fee or tax Ticketmaster collects from the consumer, with part of the fee going back to Ticketmaster.
Since before the pandemic, it has become more expensive for concertgoers to see their favorite artists. According to Pollstar, the average ticket price shot up from $91.18 in 2019 to $122.84 in 2023 — a 35% increase. What’s more, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office, 27% of a ticket price is comprised of fees.
“Whatever the name of the fee and however the fees are packaged and collected, they are essentially a ‘Ticketmaster Tax’ that ultimately raise the price fans pay,” the lawsuit stated.
The lawsuit said that Ticketmaster also harmed its customers by “focus[ing] on adding new restrictions to its ticketing systems to force fans to interact with Ticketmaster and thereby facilitate Ticketmaster’s ability to increase the amount of data it collects from fans. This, of course, benefits not only Ticketmaster but also the vast array of related Live Nation businesses and feeds the Live Nation-Ticketmaster flywheel.”
Long Island Life & Politics made repeated attempts to contact Ticketmaster for this story, but did not hear back as of press time.
“Live Nation and Ticketmaster have abused the market to overcharge consumers and harm venues and artists, and my office will ensure this illegal conduct is stopped,” James said. “Through this version of the amended lawsuit against Live Nation and Ticketmaster, my office is seeking to recover damages for New York consumers who were overcharged by Live Nation and Ticketmaster. It’s time for a new era where fans, venues, and artists are not taken advantage of by big corporations that run the world of live events.”