New lawsuit from Taylor Swift fans accuses Ticketmaster of price gouging

On By Littum

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Hundreds of fans of Taylor Swift, Beyoncé and other musicians filed a lawsuit accusing Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation of price gouging, claiming both companies colluded with venues to raise ticket prices – marking the latest complaint against Ticketmaster after a federal antitrust. lawsuit filed earlier this year.

Key facts

Kinder Law filed a lawsuit Friday in the Superior Court of California in Los Angeles County, accusing Ticketmaster and Live Nation of breach of contract, fraud, negligence, negligent misrepresentation and antitrust violations.

The latest complaint — representing 365 fans of Swift, Beyoncé, The Cure and others — expands on a previous suit filed by the law firm in December 2022, alleging that Ticketmaster and Live Nation engaged in a “pattern of racketeering activity” while infringing Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).

Live Nation and Ticketmaster are “leveraging” a relationship with stadium venues owned by Live Nation to “achieve the purpose of their business,” requiring fans to use Ticketmaster exclusively for tickets “at prices in excess of what a competitive market would dictate,” the complaint alleges.

Neither Ticketmaster nor Live Nation immediately responded to a request for comment from Forbes.

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Kinder Law has requested a trial by jury, although it is not immediately clear if their claim will go to trial. The law firm has requested unspecified damages — suggesting each fan suffered a loss in “the thousands of dollars” — in addition to other punitive damages that would be determined at trial.

Key background

Ticketmaster and Live Nation have been the focus of lawsuits in recent years, including Kinder Law’s 2022 lawsuit. This complaint is similar to their latest filing, accusing both companies of various charges and antitrust violations following Swift’s Eras Tour, which left millions of fans out of able to acquire tickets, the company claims. In 2022, Ticketmaster canceled general sales for the tour after its website crashed during pre-sales, and Live Nation president Joe Berchtold claimed the problem was caused by scalpers in the midst of a “cyber attack”. The Justice Department and 29 attorneys general sued Live Nation and Ticketmaster in May, accusing the companies of having a monopoly that caused fans to pay more in fees for tickets. Live Nation criticized the DOJ’s case, saying it is “absurd” to argue that both companies had a monopoly. That lawsuit is ongoing and calls for Ticketmaster and Live Nation — which merged in 2010 — to be broken up.

Further reading

ForbesDOJ sues Ticketmaster and owns Live Nation – says ‘Monopoly’ results in higher ticket prices for fansBy Cailey GleesonForbesLive Nation faces class-action lawsuit over ‘excessive fees’ in wake of federal antitrust caseBy Molly Bohannon