The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit on Thursday against Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation Entertainment (LYV), accusing them of using “illegal” ticket resale practices. The lawsuit, which was filed in California with support from seven states, claims that the companies worked with scalpers who bought tickets in bulk to resell at higher prices. According to the FTC, this has undermined artists’ efforts to keep concerts affordable and has cost fans millions of dollars each year.
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The complaint says that Ticketmaster misleads buyers with a “bait and switch” strategy by advertising lower prices before adding extra fees that raise the total cost. It also alleges that the company knowingly allows brokers to break ticket limits, thereby violating the Better Online Ticket Sales Act. On top of that, regulators say Ticketmaster profits multiple times by charging fees to brokers and consumers in both the primary and secondary markets. As a result, the FTC estimates that the company made $3.7 billion from resold tickets between 2019 and 2024.
It’s worth mentioning that Ticketmaster controls about 80% of ticketing for major U.S. concert venues. The company is also facing a separate investigation in the U.K. over its use of “dynamic pricing,” which raises ticket costs based on market demand. In the U.S., this case follows a 2023 Justice Department lawsuit that looked to break up Live Nation and Ticketmaster over antitrust concerns. Ticketmaster and Live Nation have not yet commented on the new lawsuit.
Is LYV Stock a Good Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on LYV stock based on 13 Buys, one Hold, and zero Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average LYV price target of $179.57 per share implies 8.3% upside potential.
