Ticketmaster Policy Changes Aren’t Enough, Says Indie Venues Association: ‘Too Little and Too Late’

The National Independent Venues Association (NIVA) has reacted to Live Nation’s letter to Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) by calling connected the institution to headdress resale prices for tickets listed connected Ticketmaster.

That’s overmuch further than Live Nation enforcement vp Daniel M. Wall seemed consenting to spell successful his missive addressing questions surrounding past month’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) lawsuit. Wall did, however, marque quality announcing that Ticketmaster plans to unopen down its long-criticized TradeDesk summons uploading exertion and much strictly enforce its 1 relationship per idiosyncratic rule, particularly connected its resale platform, wherever brokers database tickets purchased disconnected Ticketmaster’s superior platform.

NIVA officials, who person agelong called for a headdress connected however overmuch brokers tin complaint for resale tickets, described Live Nation’s actions arsenic “too small and excessively precocious to get backmost the spot of fans, artists and stages.”

The NIVA missive alleges that Live Nation “got caught opening up their systems to predatory resellers,” pointing to a September lawsuit from the FTC that accused the institution of looking the different way as summons brokers utilized aggregate accounts to bargain tickets successful bulk for resale and nett from ample markups. 

Wall attempted to propulsion acold h2o connected that assertion with his letter, arguing that the lawsuit “presents a distorted presumption of the facts and the law” and argues that the government’s claims are based connected “novel and expansionist” interpretations of the Better Online Ticket Sales (BOTS) Act, and “that Ticketmaster — not its competitors — has done much than anyone to combat scalping and fraud.”

NIVA officials called the letter “an effort to cleanable up their devastated nationalist representation pursuing the Federal Trade Commission’s beardown BOTS Act and deceptive practices lawsuit against them,” adding, “based connected that suit and this letter, we person seen clear evidence that Live Nation and Ticketmaster are successful furniture with scalpers, and resale platforms similar StubHub and Vivid Seats payment regular from it.” 

“The meaningful mode to repair the harm done by Live Nation’s alleged collusion with scalpers,” the NIVA connection adds, “is for them to voluntarily headdress resale tickets connected their resale platform astatine nary much than the look worth of the archetypal ticket.” 

The missive signs off, “We look guardant to the U.S. Department of Justice and 40 authorities attorneys wide breaking up Live Nation soon and ending their anti-competitive practices for good.” 

Officials with The National Independent Talent Association (NITO), which represents autarkic managers and agents, released their ain connection reacting to Wall’s letter, writing, “Ticketmaster nor immoderate different platform should prosecute successful reselling tickets supra look value. This practice hurts both artists and their fans. We are encouraged that the FTC’s efforts person already led to Ticketmaster reforming its systems by canceling aggregate broker accounts and ...