Senators slammed Ticketmaster for raising ticket fees following a regulatory crackdown on hidden expenses as revealed in a report by the Guardian final week.
The Federal Trade Commission final May started requiring Ticketmaster to reveal live performance ticket fees upfront – a apply referred to as all-in pricing. The firm eradicated the order processing charge it charged on the the top of a transaction to adjust to the rule.
But paperwork obtained by the Guardian in public information requests present how Ticketmaster merely raised different fees so it wouldn’t lose cash.
Former regulators informed the Guardian that the corporate’s practices could violate the Federal Trade Commission’s ban on deceptive fees.
“Ticketmaster seems to believe it has a get-out-of-jail-free card to ignore antitrust and consumer protection laws. The FTC is going to have to choose whether to protect consumers and enforce the law, or cave to Ticketmaster lobbyists,” Richard Blumenthal, a Democratic senator from Connecticut, stated in a press release.
The Federal Trade Commission sued Ticketmaster together with its mother or father firm Live Nation Entertainment final September partly for hiding obligatory fees till the top of the transaction. The firm disputed the allegation and stated that it complies with FTC’s all-pricing guidelines.
“Since May 2025, tickets on Ticketmaster.com have displayed the full price upfront in line with the FTC’s all-in pricing rule. We also provide explanations of fees during the purchase process and maintain a dedicated page with additional information,” Ticketmaster stated.
Blumenthal is a rating member of the everlasting subcommittee on investigations, which revealed a report final month about how Ticketmaster drove up the price of live performance tickets following the pandemic. The report discovered the corporate pushed artists to make tickets obtainable on the resale market earlier than they have been obtainable to most people in addition to increasing dynamic pricing, which raised the price of tickets for followers. Both practices boosted Ticketmaster’s revenues.
“As revealed by my PSI investigation, Ticketmaster has taken every opportunity to drive bait-and-switch practices, manipulate the market, and drive up the cost of tickets,” Blumenthal continued.
An ongoing federal trial is contemplating whether or not Ticketmaster operates an unlawful monopoly within the dwell music trade and unfairly pushes out competitors. The firm has denied that it’s a monopoly.
Per week after the trial began, the Department of Justice abruptly reached a settlement with Live Nation Entertainment, which drew pushback from lawmakers. More than 30 states determined to proceed the litigation.
Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic senator from Massachusetts, was among the many lawmakers who criticized the deal. In a press release she stated the Guardian’s reporting on Ticketmaster’s charge practices “is just the latest reason why Ticketmaster must be broken up – once and for all.
“Too many giant monopolies think the law doesn’t apply to them, and it’s American families who are forced to pay the price.”
