The recent ticket scandal involving Taylor Swift and Bruce Springsteen has caught the attention of the FTC, leading to significant legal action against ticket resellers.
Taylor Swift & Bruce Springsteen Ticket Scandal: FTC Takes Action Against Resellers
Besides being American icons, chart-toppers, and stadium packers, what do Taylor Swift and Bruce Springsteen have in common?
With their exceptional songwriting skills aside, both the Boss and the self-styled Showgirl are at the center of a new lawsuit fueled by Donald Trump, initiated by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). This lawsuit aims to curb resale schemes that exploit hot tickets and take advantage of desperate fans.
Since around October 2016, the defendants have allegedly employed illegal methods to acquire hundreds of thousands of tickets from Ticketmaster for various performances and events, including concerts, plays, and sporting events. The FTC’s complaint against Baltimore-based Key Investment Group and its affiliates highlights the use of bots, false Ticketmaster accounts, and other deceptive tactics. The agency noted that these purchases frequently exceeded the posted ticket limits for many popular events, including Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.
From November 1, 2022, to December 30, 2023, the defendants reportedly purchased at least 379,776 tickets from Ticketmaster, costing nearly $57 million. They resold a portion of these tickets on secondary marketplaces for approximately $64 million, often charging consumers a significant markup.
To echo one of Swift’s upcoming album titles, that’s truly how you ruin a friendship.
Following Trump’s Executive Order aimed at cracking down on concert reselling scams, the FTC detailed their filing in federal court regarding Swift’s record-breaking worldwide Eras tours, which concluded in Vancouver last December.
Between March 24, 2023, and August 20, 2023, the defendants purchased ten or more tickets to each of 38 Taylor Swift concerts, totaling 2,280 tickets. They paid $744,970.29 and resold them for $1,961,980.65, netting $1,217,010.36 in revenue. For instance, at Taylor Swift’s March 25, 2023, concert at Allegiant Stadium, they used 49 different accounts to purchase 273 tickets, exceeding the six-ticket limit.
The figures were smaller for Springsteen, but the profit margins remained substantial.
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For a Bruce Springsteen show at MetLife Stadium on September 1, 2023, the defendants used 277 different accounts to purchase 1,530 tickets, exceeding the four-ticket limit. They marked up and resold these tickets, netting $20,900.84 in revenue.
Representatives for Swift and Springsteen did not respond to requests for comment on the FTC’s filing. While not a defendant, Ticketmaster is also implicated in the complaint, which references the rarely enforced Better Online Ticket Sales Act of 2016.
FTC Chairman Ferguson emphasized that this action serves as a warning to brokers that the Trump-Vance FTC will enforce regulations against unlawful circumvention of ticket sellers’ purchase limits, ensuring consumers can buy tickets at fair prices.
Despite Trump’s past criticisms of both Springsteen and Swift, this case isn’t a reconciliation effort for the singers and the former president; it was initiated during Joe Biden’s administration.
Supported by Swift and Springsteen in his 2020 presidential campaign, Biden, along with 30 state attorneys general, pursued action against Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation, in early 2024. This ongoing civil antitrust suit has seen Ticketmaster and Live Nation countersue to dismiss the investigation and refute claims regarding violations of the Better Online Ticket Sales Act.
Ah, glory days.
