Ticketmaster to Ban Multiple Accounts, Shut Down TradeDesk After FTC Lawsuit

In the aftermath of past month’s Federal Trade Commission lawsuit, Ticketmaster has announced a large argumentation change, telling lawmakers that the institution plans to barroom fans and brokers from operating aggregate accounts connected its platform. Ticketmaster besides plans to unopen down its long-criticized TradeDesk summons uploading exertion and commencement requiring summons brokers to manus implicit their Social Security numbers successful bid to merchantability tickets connected Ticketmaster’s resale platform.

The alteration is outlined successful a detailed, 10-page missive to Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), dated Oct. 17, by Live Nation enforcement vice president Daniel M. Wall. The missive from the company’s apical firm and regulatory affairs lawyer responds to a legislature enquiry astir the Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit, joined by 7 authorities attorneys general, accusing Ticketmaster and Live Nation of anti-competitive behaviour and BOTS Act violations.

Wall’s connection is clear: the FTC’s lawsuit “presents a distorted presumption of the facts and the law.” He 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.

From the outset, Wall positions Live Nation arsenic an state of consumers, not an adversary. Wall opens by assuring the senators that the institution shares their “commitment to supporting artists and fans and protecting the integrity of the unrecorded amusement industry.” The FTC’s complaint, helium argues, targets the 1 institution that has “indisputably done much than anyone other successful the manufacture to combat the atrocious actors.”

One of the astir superior allegations successful the FTC ailment is that Ticketmaster “coordinated with summons brokers” to get inventory and nett from resale fees. Wall calls that assertion “categorically false.”

He argues that the FTC has confused the long-standing manufacture signifier of brokers maintaining aggregate accounts — a holdover from the physical-ticket epoch — with amerciable conspiracy. “That summons brokers person been allowed to support aggregate accounts is true; calling that conspiracy is specious,” Wall writes, emphasizing that Ticketmaster does not secretly transportation tickets to scalpers oregon unbend enforcement of summons limits “for fiscal gain.”

The missive frames the contented arsenic 1 of humanities practice, not misconduct, noting that secondary marketplaces similar StubHub, SeatGeek and Vivid Seats trust connected broker inventory for 80–100% of their listings. In Live Nation’s view, allowing brokers aggregate accounts whitethorn beryllium a bequest signifier worthy reforming — but it’s not a crime.

The TradeDesk Controversy

The senators’ missive had echoed FTC concerns implicit TradeDesk, Ticketmaster’s inventory absorption platform, which regulators assertion facilitated large-scale summons harvesting. Wall calls that portrayal “plainly false.”

According to the letter, TradeDesk does not acquisition tickets and has nary bot functionality. Instead, it’s a logistics instrumentality for brokers to way and terms their listings crossed aggregate marketplaces. “It is 1 of galore inventory absorption systems,” Wall writes, citing StubHub’s TicketUtils, Vivid Seats’ SkyBox, and autarkic tools similar Automatiq arsenic comparable software.

Still, successful a notable concession, Live Nation says it volition beryllium “removing TradeDesk’s performance summons absorption functionality from the market” to debar “reputational harm.” Wall acknowledges that users volition simply migrate to different systems, but the determination appears designed to blunt governmental disapproval and amusement that Ticketmaster is superior astir reform.

Wall besides announced a large alteration to the company’s rules astir however galore accounts a idiosyncratic is allowed to operate. The company’s existent policy, arsenic of August 2025, explains that “each [Ticketmaster] relationship indispensable beryllium linked to a unsocial idiosyncratic and incorporate up-to-date information,” noting that the institution “may restrict the fig of accounts you tin create.”

Going forward, Wall explains, Ticketmaster volition present bounds each entity — including nonrecreational resellers — to a azygous verified account. Each resale relationship volition necessitate a unsocial payer ID, and excess accounts volition beryllium canceled. Wall says Ticketmaster volition deploy caller AI tools and individuality verification to place fake oregon duplicate accounts and region unauthorized users. Ticketmaster already blocks much than 99% of 25 cardinal dai...