Ticketmaster

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ticketmaster Entertainment, LLC
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryEntertainment
FoundedOctober 2, 1976; 47 years ago (October 2, 1976), in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.
Founders
  • Albert Leffler
  • Peter Gadwa
  • Gordon Gunn III
  • Jerry Nelson
Headquarters,
U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Products
  • Ticketing technology
  • Ticket sales
  • Ticket resales
  • Marketing
  • Distribution of event tickets and information
  • Support of venue renovation
Revenue$11.9 billion in 2019[1]
Number of employees
6,678
ParentLive Nation Entertainment (2010–present)
Websiteticketmaster.com

Ticketmaster Entertainment, LLC is an American ticket sales and distribution company based in Beverly Hills, California with operations in many countries around the world. In 2010, it merged with Live Nation under the name Live Nation Entertainment.[2]

The company's ticket sales are fulfilled digitally or at its two main fulfillment centers located in Charleston, West Virginia, and Pharr, Texas for both primary and secondary markets. Ticketmaster's clients include venues, artists and promoters. Clients control their events and set ticket prices, and Ticketmaster sells tickets that the clients make available to them. Ticketmaster also owns and operates TicketWeb, a ticketing website geared towards independent venues.

Ticketmaster is subject to numerous controversies and lawsuits, alleging violations of various laws. The platform charges a fee on tickets purchased and resold on the platform. The fees from ticket sales can account for a large percentage of overall ticket costs and have received scrutiny from regulators, customers, and musicians. The company has also faced scrutiny from the United States Department of Justice for retaliation against venues violating its 2010 10-year consent decree from the Live Nation merger, which has been extended an additional five years from 2020 through 2025.

Following the widespread criticism of the company's handling of the pre-sale of Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour in November 2022, the Department of Justice (DOJ) began a formal investigation into Live Nation Entertainment on the grounds of monopoly, antitrust law and consumer rights violations. The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee examined the merger with a hearing in January 2023. On May 23, 2024, the DOJ and a coalition of 29 states formally launched an antitrust suit against Live Nation and Ticketmaster.[3]

History[edit]

Ticketmaster was founded in Phoenix, Arizona in 1976[4] by college staffers Peter Gadwa and Albert Leffler, Gordon Gunn III, as well as businessman Jerry Nelson.[5][6] The company originally licensed computer programs and sold hardware for ticketing systems. Its first ticketed concert was Electric Light Orchestra, held at the University of New Mexico.[6][7]

In 1982, Fred Rosen was appointed CEO of Ticketmaster and moved the company to Los Angeles to be closer to the live entertainment industry. The move enabled the company to build contracts with many well-known venues including the LA Forum. Rosen drove investment into the company and led the switch to computerized ticketing.[8] By 1985 the company had operations in the U.S., Canada and Europe.[6] Under Rosen, the company moved into publishing and set up a travel agency and acquired rival Ticketron in 1991, making it the market leader.[8][9]

In November 1993, Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen acquired an 80% stake for more than $325 million.[10][8]

InterActiveCorp years[edit]

In 1998, USA Networks Inc., later named InterActiveCorp (IAC), purchased a majority stake in Ticketmaster.[11] That same year, the company merged with CitySearch and was renamed Ticketmaster Online-CitySearch.[12] In May 2000, Ticketmaster Online-CitySearch acquired TicketWeb Inc., a ticket vendor that sold tickets online and over the phone.[13] In 2003, IAC repurchased the remaining Ticketmaster stock that it had previously sold off.[14]

In September 2006, Ticketmaster President Sean Moriarty told NPR that Ticketmaster had lobbied several states to enact laws that would limit the ticket resale market to authorized companies. Economists worried these laws would harm competition, but Moriarty expressed the need to reduce corrupt scalpers and counterfeit tickets.[15]

In January 2008, Ticketmaster acquired Paciolan Inc., a developer of ticketing system applications and hosted ticketing systems, after litigation over the potential breach of antitrust laws.[16] Also in January, Ticketmaster acquired the UK-based secondary ticket marketplace, Getmein.com.[17] And finally, in that same January, Ticketmaster acquired TicketsNow, a ticket reseller in the United States, for $265 million.[18]

IAC spun off Ticketmaster as its own company in the summer of 2008.[19] Later in 2008, Ticketmaster acquired Front Line Management, an artist management firm that worked with artists such as Aerosmith, Christina Aguilera and Jimmy Buffett.[20] Front Line CEO Irving Azoff became CEO of the new company, which was renamed Ticketmaster Entertainment.[21]

Live Nation merger[edit]

In February 2009, Ticketmaster entered into an agreement to merge with event promoter Live Nation to form Live Nation Entertainment.[22] The deal was cleared by the U.S. Justice Department in January 2010 under the condition that the company sell Paciolan to Comcast Spectacor or another firm, and license its software to Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), its biggest competitor.[23] The new company, which would be called Live Nation Entertainment, would also be subject to provisions for 10 years that prevented it from retaliating against venues that partnered with competing ticketing firms.[23] This consent decree was extended in 2020 by an additional five years, and that the company acted in violation of the terms of the 2010 agreement.[24] Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino was named CEO of the new company.[25]

One year after merging, Live Nation settled a previous class action lawsuit against Ticketmaster which alleged that the company had misled plaintiffs in its descriptions of delivery and processing fees.[26]

Growth and acquisitions[edit]

In 2015, Ticketmaster acquired Front Gate Tickets, a music festival ticketing service that provided services for festivals including Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits.[27] The same year, the company acquired Universe, a DIY ticketing platform.[27] In 2017, TicketWeb, Ticketmaster's self-service ticketing platform, acquired Strobe Labs, a marketing platform that allows users to market to fans through social media.[28] In 2018, Ticketmaster acquired UPGRADED, a company which converts physical tickets into digital ones, utilising blockchain.[29]

Products and services[edit]

A Ticketmaster paper ticket

Ticketmaster sells tickets that its clients make available to it.[30] In 2009, Ticketmaster released a digital ticketing system that required customers to prove their identity prior to purchase. The company believed this would help circumvent brokers and scalpers.[31]

In 2016, Ticketmaster released a statement in favor of the Better Online Ticket Sales Act (BOTS Act), which banned the use of ticket bots to buy large amounts of tickets online and resell them at inflated prices.[32] The following year, the company filed a lawsuit against the ticket broker Prestige Entertainment after the company used bots to buy more than 30,000 tickets to the Broadway play "Hamilton".[33]

The company reported nearly 500 million tickets sold for 400,000 events in 2018.[34]

In November 2020, Ticketmaster announced it will check the COVID-19 vaccination status of ticket buyers before issuing passes when live events return in 2021. Fans that either failed to verify their vaccination status or tested positive would be denied access to the event.[35]

Pricing[edit]

The face value of Ticketmaster tickets is determined by the artist or client.[36] In addition to the face value price, venues and Ticketmaster add fees to pay for their services.[37]

Typically, fees added to a ticket's face value have included:[38][39][40]

  • Facility charge – Charge added by the venue.
  • Delivery fee – Charges added dependent on the ticket delivery method and credit card processing fees.
  • Service fee – Sum of charges added based on the "agreement with each client (artists)" and the order processing fee. Ticketmaster "may earn a profit on the order processing fee".[40]

As the Los Angeles Times has explained, "the 'service fee' is intentionally kept separate from the list price for two reasons: to make the base price of a ticket appear more affordable, and to create the impression that only Ticketmaster pockets that fee."[41] In other words, "Ticketmaster is effectively paid to be a punching bag" for consumer frustration with opaque add-on fees, and then some of the fees find their way back to the artist or venue.[41] Utilizing such subterfuge to extract additional revenue from fans without arousing direct backlash towards themselves has become increasingly important for artists. The collapse of record album sales after the year 2000 means that as of the 2020s, 95 percent of artist income comes from concert tours.[42]

Fee amounts vary between events and are dependent on the venue, available delivery methods, and preferences of the artist.[36] Some economists and activist groups have claimed that high ticket prices are due to a lack of competition within the music industry.[37][43]

In 2013, the jam band The String Cheese Incident gave fans money to purchase 400 tickets to one of its shows in order to resell them on its own site with fewer fees. The band said they were protesting Ticketmaster's ticket fees, while Ticketmaster argued that the band was taking revenue from venues and promoters.[44][45]

As of 2016, ticket resale was Ticketmaster's fastest growing business.[46]

In 2022, Ticketmaster was experimenting with a demand-based, dynamic pricing which would vary the ticket price based upon demand. The new system is touted to give artists a higher share of the revenues that would otherwise be coming through resale ticket sales.[47]

Criticism and controversies[edit]

Anti-competition claims[edit]

In May 1994, the grunge band Pearl Jam filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice claiming Ticketmaster had cut the group out of venue bookings in a dispute over fees.[48] The investigation was closed without action in 1995, though the Justice Department stated it would continue to monitor the developments in the ticket industry.[49][50] Chuck Philips, a reporter who covered the issue,[51][52][53][54] was told by sources close to the case that the investigation was closed due to a combination of a shortage of resources and the case being difficult and having uncertain prospects.[49]

In a 2009 article by the CBC, Ticketmaster argued that legislation was needed in Ontario to protect fans from scalpers and unauthorized ticket brokers saying, "You and I both know there is a thriving ticket-broker industry ... so the law is really a fiction ... We very strongly feel the law needs to be modernized to reflect the reality of internet commerce. By keeping a price cap in place, you're really just driving the [resale] business into the shadows."[55] That same year, musician Bruce Springsteen complained of a conflict of interest between Ticketmaster and TicketsNow after fans were directed to TicketsNow once tickets to his concert sold out on Ticketmaster.com. Irving Azoff, Ticketmaster CEO at the time, released an apology and stated that the TicketsNow link would no longer be shown for Springsteen's concerts.[56][57] In 2018, the United States Department of Justice began reviewing complaints by AEG that claimed the company had engaged in anti-competitive practices. As of April 2018, the Department of Justice had not released comments on its investigation.[58]

In 2020, the Department of Justice fined Ticketmaster $3 million for violating a consent decree resulting from the Live Nation merger. The consent decree is extended through 2025 and is required to enforce its own compliance with the decree with a penalty of $1 million for any future violations.[24]

On May 23, 2024, the DOJ and a coalition of 29 states formally launched an antitrust suit against Live Nation and Ticketmaster.[3] The lawsuit contends that Live Nation, which owns Ticketmaster, abused its unrivaled power in the concert and ticketing industry to eliminate competition, lessening consumer choice and resulting in rising prices.[59]

Rewards program monthly fees[edit]

In May 2013, Ticketmaster agreed to pay up to $23 million for enrolling customers into a rewards program that charged $9 per month. Ticketmaster made $85 million in fees, from customers who took about eight months on average to cancel their enrollment in the program. 1.12 million customers were eligible to claim up to a $30 refund.[60]

Secret partnership with scalpers[edit]

U.S. mainstream media has claimed that Ticketmaster secretly partners with scalpers to drive up prices for consumers.[61] Economists characterize the secondary market in tickets as socially wasteful rent-seeking.[62][63] In the mid-2000s, Ticketmaster engaged in primary market auctions that reduced the rents involved in secondary market scalping – however, Ticketmaster ended these primary market auctions, opting instead to enter into the secondary market.[63]

In September 2018, the Toronto Star reported that Ticketmaster was not enforcing ticket limit rules on its resale platform, TradeDesk.[64] Ticketmaster denied the allegations, saying it would examine its resale policies on TradeDesk, and that it "never allows ticket scalpers to buy tickets ahead of fans."[65] One month later, a group of customers filed a class action lawsuit against Ticketmaster.[66]

In July 2019, a report by Billboard revealed a strategy by Live Nation, Ticketmaster's parent company, to secretly bypass placing certain tickets for sale on the primary market and instead, place them directly on resale sites "without giving fans a chance to buy them through normal channels at face value."[67] The company acknowledged it has "facilitated the quiet transfer of concert tickets directly into the hands of resellers through the years, though only at the request of the artists involved."

Data breaches[edit]

In June 2018, Ticketmaster notified 40,000 U.K. customers that it had identified a hack caused by malicious software on a third-party customer support product it contracted. The company stated that customers who bought tickets between February and June 2018 may have had data compromised.[68][69][70][71]

On 20 May 2024, Ticketmaster had another data breach as a result of an attacker compromising their cloud database, hosted by Snowflake Inc.. The company revealed the breach on May 31, with Australian authorities confirming they are working with the company to address it.[72]

Deceptive pricing[edit]

A class action lawsuit was filed against Ticketmaster in 2003, alleging that it did not fully disclose UPS and order processing fees added to tickets sold online. The case settlement was approved in 2015 and Ticketmaster issued vouchers and discount codes to fans who purchased tickets online between 1999 and 2013.[73][74] In a related case, Ticketmaster filed suit against its liability insurance carrier, Illinois Union Insurance Company, a subsidiary of ACE Limited, in 2010 for failing to aid in its defense in the 2003 suit.[75]

In June 2019, Canada's Competition Bureau fined Ticketmaster $4.5 million dollars ($3.44 million US dollars) as part of a settlement after it was discovered that Ticketmaster "topped advertised costs by more than 20% -- and sometimes as much as 65%." In addition to the required payment, Ticketmaster signed a consent agreement to ensure its advertising policies abide by Canadian law.[76]

Competitor computer hacking[edit]

In December 2020, Ticketmaster "entered into a plea agreement with federal prosecutors" and agreed to pay a $10 million fine after being charged with illegally accessing computer systems of a competitor.[77] According to FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Williams Sweeney, "Ticketmaster used stolen information to gain an advantage over its competition, and then promoted the employees who broke the law."[78] The allegations were first reported in 2017 when a former CrowdSurge top executive hired by Ticketmaster hacked into his former employer's database.[79]

Dynamic pricing and "platinum" tickets[edit]

Ticketmaster and Live Nation has faced backlash for their dynamic pricing system and "platinum" tickets when tickets for Bruce Springsteen's and Blink-182's 2023 tours went on sale in July and October 2022 respectively, which saw fans of both acts criticize prices for random seats across the venue going for hundreds or thousands of dollars during pre-sales or right when tickets went on sale for the general public.[80][81] In March 2023, Robert Smith criticized the model and announced that the Cure would not be allowing Ticketmaster to sell dynamically-priced or platinum tickets for the band's upcoming North American tour.[82] Smith priced tickets for the Cure's concerts for as low as $20, but Ticketmaster charged fees that equalled more than the price of the base ticket. After Smith expressed his outrage, Ticketmaster refunded a portion of the fees to the purchasers.[83]

Taylor Swift tour pre-sale crash[edit]

On November 15, 2022, the first day of pre-sale of tickets to verified fans for the US leg of the Eras Tour (2023) by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift,[84] Ticketmaster's official website crashed following "historically unprecedented demand with millions showing up", halting the pre-sale.[85] In less than an hour of availability, the ticketing platform's servers were "unable to answer", with users "either completely logged out or in a queue 2,000-plus people strong that appeared frozen." Ticketmaster immediately published a statement saying they are working to fix the issues "as the site was unprepared to accommodate the sheer force of hundreds of thousands of Swift fans",[86] and subsequently reported that "hundreds of thousands of tickets" had already been sold and rescheduled the remaining onsales to a different time, including the Capital One onsale to November 16.[87]

Fans and customers online widely criticized Ticketmaster for a flawed ticketing model that obstructed them from purchasing tickets. The word "Ticketmaster" was trending number one worldwide on various social media platforms such as Twitter and TikTok.[88] Several US lawmakers took notice of the issue. US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted that Ticketmaster is a monopoly and that it must be unmerged from Live Nation Entertainment. Congressman Bill Pascrel, who had previously petitioned US Attorney General Merrick Garland in support of "strong antitrust enforcement by the Biden Administration" and criticized the merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation, stated that he attempted to purchase tickets but was placed on the waitlist.[89] The Tennessee Attorney General, Jonathan Skrmetti, began an investigation into "consumer complaints about chaos during the presale of tickets" to the tour. He said in a press conference on November 16 that "a lack of competition [for Ticketmaster] has led to a poor experience and higher prices for consumers."[90] Following investigations initiated by the Tennessee Attorney General[90] and the North Carolina Attorney General on the grounds of consumer rights violations,[91] the federal Department of Justice began an investigation into Live Nation Entertainment and Ticketmaster on November 18.[92]

Swift released a statement on November 18, 2022, via her Instagram story; she asserted that she is protective of her fans and wanted to assure a quality experience for them, but found it difficult to "trust an outside entity with these relationships and loyalties". She said that she was "not going to make excuses for anyone because we asked [Ticketmaster], multiple times, if they could handle this kind of demand and we were assured they could." She concluded that she is taking the necessary measures to resolve the issue and resume the sale.[93]

In December, a group of Swift's fans, called "Swifties," filed a lawsuit against Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation, accusing them of fraud, anti-trust violations, and price-fixing. In the lawsuit, fans demanded $2,500 for each violation, which could potentially amount to several million in total.[94]

Cloned and invalid tickets in Bad Bunny concert[edit]

On December 9, 2022, the day of Bad Bunny's first concert of his World's Hottest Tour in Mexico City, an unprecedented number of tickets were cancelled, affecting a considerable group of concertgoers, whose tickets were confiscated and destroyed.[95] Because of this, Ticketmaster received a great amount of criticism because many of the attendees who were denied entry were accused of having counterfeit or cloned tickets, even though those attendees presented proof of payment or their ticket had not even been previously scanned. The procurator of Office of the Federal Prosecutor for the Consumer, described on Twitter that the agency had already requested a report from Ticketmaster Mexico on what happened at the Estadio Azteca and asked affected consumers to formalize their complaints under the terms of the law.[96] Due to the criticism, Ticketmaster Mexico released a statement through their social networks apologizing and saying that "the inconveniences in the accesses were a consequence of the presentation of an unprecedented number of fake tickets, which caused an out of the ordinary agglomeration of people and an intermittent operation of our system". They also offered refunds for the full cost of the tickets.[97] However, PROFECO ordered that those affected not only be refunded the full cost of the ticket, but an additional 20%.[98]

United States Senate committee hearing[edit]

On January 24, 2023, a three-hour hearing by the Senate judiciary committee,[99] titled "That's the Ticket: Promoting Competition and Protecting Consumers in Live Entertainment", to analyze "the long-simmering dissatisfaction over the 2010 consent decree governing the merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation", was held at 10:00 am EST in the Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C.[100] The hearing was telecast live. Various media outlets reported that both the Democrat and Republican senators "grilled" Ticketmaster's representative, Joe Berchtold, the company's chief financial officer. The senators questioned Berchtold over Ticketmaster's monopolistic practices, policies, ticket costs, lack of transparency, lack of defense against bots, and insensitivity to music artists. Berchtold, despite apologizing for the debacle, denied accusations of monopoly and fraud, but accepted that "there are several things we could have done better—including staggering the sales over a longer period of time and doing a better job setting fan expectations for getting tickets" and continued to blame "industrial-scale ticket scalping" and "unprecedented number of bots" in Swift's tour debacle. The witnesses prosecuting Ticketmaster included Jerry Mickelson, the president of JAM Creative Productions; and Jack Groetzinger, co-founder of SeatGeek.[101][102] Live Nation cited several letters of support within its testimony, including one from American country singer Garth Brooks.[103] Free Britney America, a D.C. organization that was part of the Free Britney movement, protested outside the U.S. Capitol during the hearing "in support of ending Ticketmaster-Live Nation's monopoly over the live event and ticketing industry."[104]

Drake and Zach Bryan tours controversies[edit]

On December 26, 2022, American country singer Zach Bryan criticized Ticketmaster for his Burn Burn Burn tour (2023) and listed out non-transferrable tickets to stop scalpers.[105] He went on to release a live album, entitled All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster.[106][107]

In March 2023, fans of Canadian rapper Drake also filed a class action lawsuit against Ticketmaster in the Superior Court of Quebec, alleging intentional deception and fraud. Plaintiffs claimed that the on-sale for the It's All a Blur Tour, a co-headlining concert tour by Drake and 21 Savage, "intentionally misleads consumers for [Ticketmaster's] own financial gain" by concealing information about additional show dates to drive demand and ticket prices.[108][109] The suit seeks $300 in punitive damages per customer and compensatory damages covering the difference between the "Official Platinum" ticket prices and the regular cost for the seats.[110]

Eurovision 2023 on-sale crash[edit]

For the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool in May 2023, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the host broadcaster BBC partnered with Ticketmaster.[111] Prior to the ticket booking platform going live, many users complained that the Ticketmaster website had crashed with a 500 error.[112] Tickets for the contest's final sold out in 36 minutes, with the remaining available shows selling out around an hour later.[113] Following this, tickets were available on third-party resale platforms such as Viagogo, with a general admission standing ticket for the final, originally priced at £380, being sold for up to £11,800.[114][115][116]

Coronation Concert Tickets controversies[edit]

Ticketmaster was heavily criticised for their handling of the tickets for Coronation Concert of Charles III and Camilla. After two rounds of ticket balloting remaining spare tickets were sent out to people who originally put their name down. Thousands of email sent out to people stating "Congratulations, you have been successful in the ballot for a pair of standing tickets".[117][118] The email also said "You will have until 12:00 on 27th April to claim your tickets. If you do not claim your tickets by this date then they will be re-allocated"; as a result many people booked hotels or the day off work in anticipation that they had already gotten the tickets.[119] Ticketmaster has been criticised and the email labeled "misleading".[120]

Partners[edit]

Ticketmaster has partnerships with venues, professional sports leagues and teams, college and universities, musical acts and theatre tours[121][122][123] and target corporation in the United States and internationally.[124] Ticketmaster has partnered with musical acts such as Taylor Swift,[125] and the Trans-Siberian Orchestra,[126] and theatre productions such as Hamilton and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.[121][127]

Ticketmaster has been the ticketing provider for the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Basketball Association (NBA).[128][129][130] In 2008, Ticketmaster entered into an agreement with the National Football League (NFL) to manage its resale market on NFL TicketExchange.[131] Ticketmaster also works with wrestling promotions World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) (1994) and All Elite Wrestling (AEW) (2019)

In 2017, Ticketmaster announced it would open the TicketExchange platform to allow the sale and validation of tickets on third-party websites, including StubHub.[131] Ticketmaster has also partnered with the United States Tennis Association,[132] Tennis Canada,[133] and the PGA Tour.[134]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Live Nation reports revenue growth in 2019 to $11.5bn". February 28, 2020.
  2. ^ Pelofsky, Jeremy; Adegoke, Yinka (January 25, 2010). "Live Nation, Ticketmaster merge; agree to U.S. terms". Reuters.
  3. ^ a b Michaels, Dave; Steele, Anne (May 23, 2024). "Justice Department Sues to Break Up Live Nation-Ticketmaster". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
  4. ^ "The Ticketmaster Racket". Stuff They Dont Want You to Know. May 2, 2019. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  5. ^ Lewis, Christina S. N. (November 23, 2007). "Ticket Master's Place". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  6. ^ a b c "Rival to Ticketron : Ticketmaster Emerging as Force in L.A." Los Angeles Times. January 31, 1985. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  7. ^ "Ticketmaster". Chicago Tribune. September 20, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  8. ^ a b c Sandler, Adam. "Industry's #1 has a ticket to rule". Daily Variety. p. 17.
  9. ^ "Ticketmaster Deal To Get Ticketron". The New York Times. February 28, 1991. p. 4 (section D). Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  10. ^ "MICROSOFT CO-FOUNDER PAUL ALLEN BUYS CONTROL OF TICKETMASTER". Chicago Tribune. November 22, 1993. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  11. ^ Reuters (March 24, 1998). "USA picks up Ticketmaster". Variety. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  12. ^ Bicknell, Craig (August 13, 1998). "CitySearch Joins Ticketmaster". Wired. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  13. ^ Orwall, Bruce (May 30, 2000). "Ticketmaster Buys TicketWeb In Bid to Diversify Offerings". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  14. ^ Hansell, Saul (May 6, 2003). "TECHNOLOGY; USA Interactive Is Acquiring LendingTree in Stock Deal". The New York Times. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  15. ^ Davidson, Adam. "Ticketmaster Targets Secondary Market". NPR. NPR. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  16. ^ Yahoo! Business Form 10-Q for Ticketmaster Archived December 19, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  17. ^ White, Dominic (January 29, 2008). "Ticketmaster moves into UK concert resales". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022.
  18. ^ Smith, Ethan (January 15, 2008). "Ticketmaster Buys Major Reseller". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  19. ^ "IAC to spin off ticket seller". June 24, 2008. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  20. ^ Buskirk (October 23, 2008). "Ticketmaster Acquires Majority of Front Line Management". Wired. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  21. ^ "Ticketmaster takes stake in Front Line". The Hollywood Reporter. October 23, 2008. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  22. ^ Live Nation and Ticketmaster Agree to Merge New York Times. 10 February 2009.
  23. ^ a b Sisario (January 25, 2010). "Justice Dept. Clears Ticketmaster-Live Nation Merger". The New York Times. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  24. ^ a b Clark, Dave (January 14, 2020). "Despite Multiple Consent Decree Violations, Live Nation Gets Slap on Wrist from DOJ". TicketNews. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  25. ^ "Live Nation to buy Ticketmaster". Reuters. February 10, 2009. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
  26. ^ "Live Nation to Pay $22.3 Million to Settle Class Action Suit Against Ticketmaster". Billboard. January 27, 2011.
  27. ^ a b "Ticketmaster Acquires Festival Ticketer Front Gate". Billboard. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  28. ^ Ellisngson, Annlee. "Ticketmaster buys marketing platform to help clubs engage with fans".
  29. ^ Ticketmaster. "Ticketmaster Acquires Blockchain Ticketing Solution UPGRADED". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  30. ^ "How To Avoid Online Ticket Sale Fees". July 11, 2017. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  31. ^ "Ticketmaster tries to cut out scalpers again – Business – Retail – NBCNews.com". NBC News. September 17, 2009. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
  32. ^ "President Obama Signs Anti-Scalping Bill Into Law". Billboard. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
  33. ^ Maddaus, Gene (October 2, 2017). "Ticketmaster Says Bot Army Bought 30,000 'Hamilton' Tickets". Variety. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
  34. ^ Aswad, Jem (February 28, 2019). "Live Nation Posts Another Record Year, Revenue Up 11%". Variety. Archived from the original on February 18, 2021. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  35. ^ CBSLA Staff (November 12, 2020). "Ticketmaster To Verify COVID Vaccination Status Of Fans Before Issuing Concert Passes". losangeles.cbslocal.com. Archived from the original on April 15, 2021. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  36. ^ a b Roberts, Randall (March 4, 2009). "Ticketmaster and Servants: Bands Get Cut of Service Fee". Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  37. ^ a b Conaway, Laura (September 2, 2009). "The Economics Of Ticketmaster : Planet Money". NPR. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
  38. ^ "Ticketmaster's new blog: 'We get it -- you don't like service fees'". August 23, 2010. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  39. ^ Sisario (May 15, 2012). "String Cheese Incident Takes On Ticketmaster". The New York Times. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  40. ^ a b Ticketmaster Help, "How are ticket prices and fees determined?". 2021. Archived.
  41. ^ a b Brown, August (January 23, 2023). "Hating Ticketmaster long predates the Taylor Swift fiasco". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  42. ^ Tkacik, Maureen; Brown, Krista (December 21, 2022). "Ticketmaster's Dark History: A 40-year saga of kickbacks, threats, political maneuvering, and the humiliation of Pearl Jam". The American Prospect. Retrieved January 28, 2023.
  43. ^ Randall. "Angry About Tickets? Here's Who To Blame". Forbes.
  44. ^ Sisario, Ben (May 15, 2012). "String Cheese Incident Takes On Ticketmaster". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
  45. ^ "News". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 28, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
  46. ^ Cookson, Robert (March 13, 2016). "Live Nation calls for more aggressive ticket pricing from artists". Financial Times. Archived from the original on December 10, 2022.
  47. ^ "Ticketmaster announces major change which could see tickets prices soar". uk.news.yahoo.com. October 10, 2022. Retrieved October 11, 2022.
  48. ^ Philips, Chuck (June 8, 1994). "Pearl Jam vs. Ticketmaster: Choosing Sides : Legal file: The pop music world is divided over the Seattle band's allegations, which led to a Justice Department investigation into possible anti-competitive practices in the ticket distribution industry". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
  49. ^ a b Philips, Chuck (July 6, 1995). "U.S. Drops Ticketmaster Antitrust Probe : Entertainment: Abrupt closure of investigation lifts cloud of uncertainty over firm, catches others in industry off guard". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Archived from the original on December 31, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
  50. ^ Blumenthal, Ralph (July 6, 1995). "U.S. Ends Ticketmaster Investigation". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on February 11, 2021. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
  51. ^ Philips, Chuck (June 9, 1992). "A Tangle Over Tickets : Ticketmaster, Target of Lawsuits, Says It Offers Broad Service". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  52. ^ Philips, Chuck (June 17, 1995). "COLUMN ONE : The Ticket King's Path to Power : As Pearl Jam just learned, Ticketmaster's Fred Rosen gets what he wants. His tactics have earned him some foes, but even critics admit he has transformed the industry. Now he's eyeing new realms". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
  53. ^ Philips, Chuck (June 8, 1994). "Pearl Jam vs. Ticketmaster: Choosing Sides : Legal file: The pop music world is divided over the Seattle band's allegations, which led to a Justice Department investigation into possible anti-competitive practices in the ticket distribution industry". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
  54. ^ Philips, Chuck (May 17, 1991). "Ticket Flap: What Price Convenience?: Entertainment: A host of service fees, surcharges and taxes is riling concert-goers--and lawmakers". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
  55. ^ The Canadian Press (January 2, 2009). "Ticketmaster says pricey resale tickets protect consumers". CBC News. Archived from the original on March 7, 2009. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  56. ^ Knapton, Sarah (February 5, 2009). "Bruce Springsteen 'furious' at Ticketmaster". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on February 6, 2009. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
  57. ^ Kreps, Daniel (February 4, 2009). "Bruce Springsteen "Furious" At Ticketmaster, Rails Against Live Nation Merger". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  58. ^ Sisario, Ben; Bowley, Graham (April 1, 2018). "Live Nation Rules Music Ticketing, Some Say With Threats". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 25, 2021 – via NYTimes.com.
  59. ^ Romm, Tony (May 23, 2024). "U.S., states sue to 'break up' Ticketmaster parent Live Nation". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  60. ^ "Ticketmaster agrees to pay up to $23 million to customers in lawsuit". The Associated Press. Los Angeles. May 16, 2013. Archived from the original on June 5, 2021. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  61. ^ "'I'm getting ripped off': A look inside Ticketmaster's price-hiking bag of tricks". CBC. 2018.
  62. ^ Tam, Stephanie. "Why Is the Live-Event Ticket Market So Screwed Up?". Freakonomics. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  63. ^ a b Agarwal, Nikhil; Budish, Eric (2021), Ho, Kate; Hortaçsu, Ali; Lizzeri, Alessandro (eds.), "Market design", Handbook of Industrial Organization, Handbook of Industrial Organization, Volume 5, vol. 5, Elsevier, pp. 1–79, doi:10.1016/bs.hesind.2021.11.010, ISBN 9780323988872
  64. ^ Tsioulcas, Anastasia (September 20, 2018). "Ticketmaster Has Its Own Secret 'Scalping Program,' Canadian Journalists Report". NPR. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  65. ^ "Ticketmaster Responds to Senate Letter Investigating Resale Controversy: Exclusive". Billboard. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  66. ^ Wang, Amy (October 1, 2018). "Ticketmaster Faces Class-Action Lawsuit After Scalping Report". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  67. ^ "Secretly Recorded Phone Call Offers Window Into How Live Nation Helped Metallica and Other Artists Place Tickets Directly On Resale Market". Billboard. July 19, 2019.
  68. ^ "Ticketmaster data breach: Thousands of customers may be affected". Which?. June 27, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  69. ^ "Ticketmaster admits personal data stolen in hack attack". BBC News. June 27, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  70. ^ "Ticketmaster admits user data was stolen in breach". Sky News. June 28, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  71. ^ "The Ticketmaster hack is a perfect storm of bad IT and bad comms". Wired. June 28, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  72. ^ Whittaker, Zack (May 31, 2024). "Live Nation confirms Ticketmaster was hacked, says personal information stolen in data breach". TechCrunch. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  73. ^ Karp, Hannah (June 3, 2014). "Ticketmaster Agrees to Tentative Settlement".
  74. ^ "Ticketmaster voucher settlement was a debacle – and it will get worse - MoneySmart - the Buffalo News". Archived from the original on July 30, 2016. Retrieved July 26, 2016.
  75. ^ "Ticketmaster LLC Locks Horns with ACE Group Company Over Errors and Omissions Coverage". January 13, 2011.
  76. ^ Bliss, Karen (June 28, 2019). "Ticketmaster Canada Settles Deceptive Pricing Lawsuit for $3.4 Million". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021.
  77. ^ Moghe, Sonia (December 30, 2020). "Ticketmaster to pay $10 million in fines after admitting to illegally accessing competitor's computers". CNN. Archived from the original on January 27, 2021.
  78. ^ Goodin, Dan (January 4, 2021). "Ticketmaster admits it hacked rival company before it went out of business". arstechnica.com. Ars Technica. Archived from the original on April 16, 2021. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  79. ^ Maddaus, Gene (February 27, 2017). "Ticketmaster Accused of Hacking Rival Firm's Database". Variety. Archived from the original on May 13, 2021.
  80. ^ "Bruce Springsteen Fans Furious at Ticket Prices Going as High as $4-5K, Due to Ticketmaster's 'Dynamic Pricing'". MSN. July 21, 2022. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  81. ^ "Blink-182 Tickets Are So Expensive Because Ticketmaster Is a Disastrous Monopoly and Now Everyone Pays Ticket Broker Prices". Vice. October 20, 2022. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  82. ^ Ivie, Devon (March 17, 2023). "Ticketmaster Pissed Off the Wrong Goth". Vulture. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  83. ^ "Ticketmaster to refund some fees after The Cure's Robert Smith says he was 'sickened' by prices". NBC News. March 17, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  84. ^ Clark, Travis (November 15, 2022). "Ticketmaster was 'experiencing technical difficulties' and outage reports surged as presale started for Taylor Swift's Eras tour". Business Insider. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  85. ^ Spangler, Todd (November 15, 2022). "Taylor Swift Fans Crash Ticketmaster Site". Variety. Retrieved November 15, 2022.
  86. ^ Jones, C. T. (November 15, 2022). "Taylor Swift Tickets Are On Sale. Fans Say It's Their Hunger Games". Rolling Stone. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  87. ^ @Ticketmaster (November 15, 2022). "Ticketmaster statement" (Tweet). Retrieved November 15, 2022 – via Twitter.
  88. ^ "AOC demands Ticketmaster be dismantled after Taylor Swift ticket sale chaos". The Independent. November 16, 2022. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  89. ^ "AOC demands Ticketmaster be dismantled after Taylor Swift ticket sale chaos". The Independent. November 16, 2022. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  90. ^ a b Ighadaro, Omose (November 16, 2022). "Tennessee AG Investigating Antitrust Violations in Taylor Swift Ticket Presale". Bloomberg. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
  91. ^ Ighodaro, Omose (November 17, 2022). "Tennessee, North Carolina AGs Investigating Taylor Swift Ticket Presale". Bloomberg. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  92. ^ McCabe, David; Sisario, Ben (November 18, 2022). "Justice Department Said to Investigate Ticketmaster's Parent Company". The New York Times. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  93. ^ Josephs, Leslie (November 18, 2022). "Taylor Swift slams 'outside entity' over ticket fiasco: 'I'm not going to make excuses for anyone'". CNBC. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  94. ^ "Taylor Swift: 'Swifties' sue Ticketmaster over tour sale problems". BBC News. December 5, 2022. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  95. ^ Gularte, Alejandra (December 10, 2022). "Hundreds of Tickets Canceled for Bad Bunny Concert in Mexico". Vulture. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  96. ^ "Final de la gira de Bad Bunny en México opacada por boletaje falso; Ticketmaster ofrece reembolsos". CNN (in Spanish). December 10, 2022. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  97. ^ Ticketmaster Mexico [@Ticketmaster_Me] (December 10, 2022). "#AvisoImportante con respecto al concierto de @sanbenito (#BadBunny) en el @EstadioAzteca" (Tweet). Retrieved December 11, 2022 – via Twitter.
  98. ^ "Ticketmaster deberá reembolsar y dar 20% extra a fans de Bad Bunny afectados: Profeco". Forbes México (in Mexican Spanish). December 11, 2022. Retrieved December 12, 2022.
  99. ^ Murphy Kelly, Samantha (January 24, 2023). "Ticketmaster gets grilled: 6 takeaways from hearing over Taylor Swift concert fiasco". CNN Business. Archived from the original on January 25, 2023. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  100. ^ Brooks, Dave (January 23, 2023). "Ticketmaster Plans to Blame Scalpers for Taylor Swift Debacle at Senate Hearing". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 24, 2023. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  101. ^ "Taylor Swift concert fiasco leads to US Senate grilling for Ticketmaster". The Indian Express. January 25, 2023. Archived from the original on January 25, 2023. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  102. ^ Elbeshbishi, Sarah. "'Industrial-scale ticket scalping.' Senators grill Ticketmaster over Taylor Swift concert fiasco". USA Today. Archived from the original on January 24, 2023. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  103. ^ "Ticketmaster apologises for Taylor Swift tour sales fiasco". BBC News. January 24, 2023. Archived from the original on January 26, 2023. Retrieved January 26, 2023.
  104. ^ "DC organization protests against Ticketmaster and Live Nation outside US Capitol". WCIV. January 24, 2023. Archived from the original on January 24, 2023. Retrieved January 24, 2023.
  105. ^ Millman, Ethan (March 28, 2023). "With Ticketmaster Lawsuit's First Hearing, Swifties Take to the Streets". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  106. ^ Heching, Dan (December 27, 2022). "Zach Bryan drops surprise album 'All My Homies Hate Ticketmaster,' vows to combat high ticket prices". CNN. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  107. ^ Freeman, Jon (January 4, 2023). "Zach Bryan Wants to Burn Ticketmaster to the Ground". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  108. ^ "Drake fans are the latest to hit Ticketmaster with a lawsuit following 'It's All A Blur' tour sale". Business Insider. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  109. ^ "Ticketmaster facing lawsuit over Drake pricing now, too". The A.V. Club. March 24, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  110. ^ Fu, Eddie (March 24, 2023). "Drake fan files class-action lawsuit against Ticketmaster over inflated "Official Platinum" prices". Consequence. Retrieved March 28, 2023.
  111. ^ "Eurovision 2023: Tickets for Liverpool sell out after huge demand". BBC News. March 2, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  112. ^ Somerville, Ewan (March 7, 2023). "Eurovision tickets website crashes moments before sale begins". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  113. ^ Jones, Damian (March 7, 2023). "Eurovision final 2023 tickets sell out in 36 minutes". NME. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  114. ^ "Tickets: Eurovision Song Contest Grand Final - Live Show, Liverpool | Sat, 13 May 2023, 20:00 | Ticketmaster UK". Ticketmaster UK. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  115. ^ "Eurovision tickets reselling for up to £12,000 as fans hunt for ways to attend contest". ITV News. March 7, 2023.
  116. ^ "Tickets for all 9 shows at this year's Eurovision Song Contest have now SOLD OUT". Eye on. March 7, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  117. ^ "Anger as fans say Coronation Concert ballot 'misleading'". BBC News. April 25, 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  118. ^ "'Misleading' email brings residents to tears in Coronation concert ticket disaster". Bracknell News. April 26, 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  119. ^ McTaggart, India (April 25, 2023). "Coronation Concert chaos after tickets sell out in minutes angering ballot holders". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  120. ^ "'Misleading' email brings residents to tears in Coronation concert ticket disaster". Royal Borough Observer. April 26, 2023. Retrieved April 26, 2023.
  121. ^ a b Maddaus, Gene (October 2, 2017). "Ticketmaster Says Bot Army Bought 30,000 'Hamilton' Tickets". Variety. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  122. ^ "Ticketmaster To Use Next-Generation Venue Software For The NFL". October 18, 2017.
  123. ^ "Scottish Comic Beats Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran in Ticketmaster UK Fan Vote For 'Ticket of the Year'". Billboard. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  124. ^ "Ticketmaster Will Once Again Be the Official Ticketing Partner of SMG's UK Venues". Amplify. April 30, 2018.
  125. ^ "Taylor Swift announces massive 2018 'Reputation' tour". USA Today. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  126. ^ "Exclusive: Trans-Siberian Orchestra announces 20th-anniversary winter tour". USA Today. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  127. ^ Fierberg, Ruthie (September 30, 2017). "How to Buy Tickets to Broadway's Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts One and Two".
  128. ^ "NFL, Ticketmaster renew partnership for at least $200M". April 2, 2012. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  129. ^ "Guarding The Gates: NHL Signs Multiyear Extension Of Deal With Ticketmaster". Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  130. ^ "NBA Renews Ticketmaster Deal for Two Years". Billboard. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  131. ^ a b "StubHub Inks NFL Deal for Digital Tickets, Ticketmaster Integration". Billboard. Retrieved April 22, 2019.
  132. ^ "New Tech Offerings This Year At The US Open". NY Sports Day. August 26, 2018. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
  133. ^ "Rogers Cup goes digital with Ticketmaster". TheTicketingBusiness News. August 8, 2018. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
  134. ^ Brasier, John (July 25, 2017). "Wyndham Championship announces deal with Ticketmaster, new tier pricing". Retrieved June 13, 2019.

External links[edit]