“Yikes”: Internal emails reveal Ticketmaster helped scalpers jack up prices, FTC says

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has sued Ticketmaster and Live Nation, alleging that the companies turned a "blind eye" to scalpers who were using the platform to inflate ticket prices. Internal emails revealed that Ticketmaster knowingly allowed scalpers to use its professional reseller program to purchase large quantities of tickets, which they then resold at higher prices. The FTC claims that this practice has led to consumers paying exorbitant prices for tickets, with some customers reporting having to pay up to four times the original price. Ticketmaster has defended its actions, stating that it has measures in place to prevent ticket scalping, but the FTC argues that these measures were ineffective. The lawsuit seeks to hold Ticketmaster and Live Nation accountable for their role in enabling the ticket resale market, and to implement new policies and procedures to prevent similar practices in the future.