In the event you’ve been harboring complaints about Ticketmaster, now’s the time to let all of it out. The Division of Justice and the Federal Commerce Fee are inviting the public to submit comments about dangerous practices in reside ticketing as a part of efforts to “determine unfair and anticompetitive” habits within the trade.
In March, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to handle unfair practices within the ticketing trade, comparable to scalpers utilizing bots to purchase up huge quantities of tickets. He directed the FTC and DOJ to implement competitors legal guidelines, in addition to file a report about their progress inside six months. The businesses plan to make use of the general public feedback to tell their suggestions.
Ticketmaster has been below nearer regulatory scrutiny after its web site crashed when Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour tickets went on sale in November 2022, sparking outrage amongst followers and even Swift herself. The DOJ filed an antitrust lawsuit in opposition to Ticketmaster and its mum or dad firm, LiveNation, final 12 months, claiming their unlawful monopoly ends in increased ticket costs for shoppers.
“We are going to proceed to carefully look at this market and search for alternatives the place vigorous enforcement of the antitrust legal guidelines can result in elevated competitors that makes tickets extra reasonably priced for followers whereas providing fairer compensation for artists,” Abigail Slater, the assistant lawyer normal of the DOJ’s antitrust division, mentioned within the press launch.