Ticketmaster is being sued over its alleged mishandling of the ‘I Love The 90s’ tour in the US, with the operator accused of sabotaging sales by only advertising the highest-priced tickets.
The ‘I Love The 90s: The Party Continues’ tour, featuring stars from the 1990s, continues to run despite the filing of a federal lawsuit by Universal Attractions Agency (UAA). TLC and C&C Music Factory are among the acts taking part in the tour.
UAA contends that Ticketmaster posted only top ticket and VIP package prices on the tour’s splash page during the presale. That decision discouraged potential ticket-buyers, UAA claims, as they only saw prices of up to $375 (£290/€320), instead of regular tickets of little more than $20.
Some concerts had to be cancelled due to poor sales, which the agency claims was related to Ticketmaster’s ticketing strategy.
According to the Amplify website, UAA charges Ticketmaster and parent company Live Nation with false advertising and unfair competition, calling the action “knowing, and wonton and malicious”.
The suit was initially filed in April, since when Ticketmaster has denied the claim and filed a motion to dismiss, saying Universal failed to make specific allegations.
Earlier this month UAA provided correspondence from concert promoters expressing their concerns about the prices that were initially shown on Ticketmaster’s website.
Ticketmaster and Live Nation have been given until August 30 to respond to UAA’s updated complaint. An initial pretrial conference will take place on September 12.
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