The Justice Department filed a sweeping antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster and parent company Live Nation Entertainment on Thursday, accusing them of running an illegal monopoly over live events in America — squelching competition and driving up prices for fans. Here’s a timeline of some of the dustups between artists, fans, and Ticketmaster over the years. Pearl Jam vs.
Ticketmaster — 1994 Pearl Jam filed a complaint against Ticketmaster with the Justice Department, claiming that the company used its position in the industry to stop promoters from booking the band because they railed against Ticketmaster’s pricing. Pearl Jam also alleged the company had a monopoly over ticket distribution because of its relationship with various venues. Stubhub vs Ticketmaster and the Golden State Warriors — 2015 sued Ticketmaster and the Golden State Warriors, alleging it unfairly required fans looking to resell tickets to use Ticketmaster’s resale exchange.
The online ticket marketplace and division of San Jose, California-based eBay Inc. alleged in the lawsuit that the organizations prevent fans from deciding how they wanted to resell tickets and artificially drove up ticket prices. Swifties vs Ticketmaster — 2022 Taylor Swift posted a story on Instagram in November expressing her anger and frustration over the hours spent by for her tour.
Fans trying to scoop up tickets in a pre-sale for Swift’s The Eras tour were met by massive delays and error messages that Ticketma.
