Leadership / 10.05.18
US Federal Trade Commission to Hold Public Session on the Ticketing Business
Access Staff
Original article published on Complete Music Update (10/05/18) by Chris Cooke
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced that it will host a public session in March 2019 focusing on the ticketing business, discussing both the primary and secondary ticketing markets. The FTC bills the session as a "public workshop," and it comes in the wake of media reports accusing Live Nation and its Ticketmaster subsidiary of anti-competitive behavior, and probing their questionable relationship with scalpers. "The online event ticket industry has been a frequent topic of consumer and competitor complaints, and FTC staff is seeking public input in advance of the workshop, including possible discussion topics and potential participants," the commission said. It noted the session would convene a "variety of stakeholders, including industry representatives, consumer advocates, trade associations, academics and government officials." To be covered at the workshop will be "practices that prevent consumers from obtaining tickets, mislead consumers about price or availability, or mislead consumers about the entity from which they are purchasing." The FTC also said the event "will discuss the current state of the online event ticket marketplace, shed light on industry-wide advertising and pricing issues, and explore ways to address deception beyond traditional law enforcement." National Association of Ticket Brokers executive director Gary Adler has praised the workshop for its planned expose of "anti-competitive" practices and Ticketmaster's monopolization.
Read the full story on the Complete Music Update website.
Tags: Ticketmaster , Reselling , Regulations , News , Secondary Ticketing