Ticketmaster Unveils Plan to Crack Down on Scalpers Amid Mounting Criticism

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In this photo illustration, A ticketmaster website is shown on a computer screen on November 18, 2022 in Miami, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Ticketmaster announced new measures to fight ticket scalping as it faces growing criticism and a lawsuit from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

The company revealed plans to ban multiple accounts, shut down its TradeDesk resale tool, and require tax ID verification for resellers, aiming to get more tickets into the hands of real fans.

The FTC sued Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation last month, accusing them of letting scalpers buy large amounts of tickets and then reselling them at high prices.

The lawsuit also claims Ticketmaster profits multiple times from fees on initial sales, resale sales, and buyers of resold tickets.

In response, Live Nation's Executive Vice President Daniel Wall wrote in a letter to Senators Marsha Blackburn and Ben Ray Luján that the lawsuit "presents a distorted view of the facts and the law."

Wall denied the company colludes with scalpers, calling the claims "categorically false," and pointed out that resale fees make up only 3% of Live Nation's revenue, Forbes reported.

Despite denying wrongdoing, Ticketmaster said it would stop users and brokers from holding more than one account.

This will be enforced with Social Security or tax ID checks and AI tools that will detect and cancel accounts linked to scalpers.

Wall said, "We are therefore announcing today that we will no longer let any broker maintain, buy tickets with, or post resale tickets with more than one account."

FTC Lawsuit Pushes Ticketmaster to Rein In Resellers

Ticketmaster also confirmed it will shut down TradeDesk, a platform that helps resellers track ticket sales.

The FTC alleges TradeDesk assists scalpers, but Live Nation denies this and says it is closing the tool to avoid reputational harm.

Wall explained that previous policies allowing brokers to have multiple accounts were part of industry norms and antitrust compliance, but now Ticketmaster is taking stronger steps to enforce limits.

The company says it has blocked 6 billion fake accounts this year and invested over $1 billion in anti-bot technology.

The FTC lawsuit claims Ticketmaster allowed brokers to ignore limits on ticket purchases and failed to stop bots that buy tickets unfairly.

Wall disagrees with the FTC's interpretation of the law and says Ticketmaster's actions are lawful. He added the company is committed to working with Congress and the FTC to find real solutions.

However, critics remain skeptical. According to PollStar, the National Independent Venue Association called Ticketmaster's changes "too little, too late," accusing the company of betraying fans and artists by allowing scalpers to profit.

The group urges a resale price cap and hopes regulators will break up Live Nation's dominant control of the ticket market.

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