A group of almost 400 Taylor Swift fans and concert-goers have filed a lawsuit in California against Ticketmaster over price gouging.
The complaint was filed in California state court and accuses Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation of intentionally driving up ticket prices. According to a report from Wired, plaintiffs allege that Ticketmaster and Live Nation have violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations (RICO) Act by colluding with stadiums and other partners.
Additionally, the complaint builds on an existing federal court case that was brought by Swift fans accusing Ticketmaster and Live Nation of racketeering by having ticket-buyers “part with more money than they are led to believe, and well exceeding the value of the products and services they receive”.
A Live Nation spokesperson told Wired: “This lawsuit is based on false assumptions about how ticketing works. Artist teams, not Ticketmaster, set prices.”
Swift fans first brought a case against Ticketmaster in December 2022 in response to the onsale for the singer’s Eras Tour. They say tickets reportedly began to appear on Ticketmaster’s own resale marketplace at an inflated price, while they were still in the queue.
Live Nation’s president and chief executive Michael Rapino recently reiterated that people misunderstand what the company and Ticketmaster actually are, and the role they play.
During the company’s 2024 investor presentation, Rapino said as per Music Business Worldwide: “We’re a B2B business. We have two B2B clients, venues for Ticketmaster, and artists for the concert division.
“We don’t have a lot of control on the consumer product. I can’t tell you what the price is going to be. I can’t tell you how to put it on sale. We work for the artist. We take the punch for the artist. We protect the artist.”
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